Good signs for England in draw

South Australia 7 for 247 dec and 2 for 164 (Harris 71*, Elliott 55) drew with England XI 415 (Bell 132, Collingwood 80, Flintoff 47, Tait 3-87)
Scorecard

Steve Harmison was able to field, despite having pulled out of the match with a side strain © Getty Images

England fans were heartened to see Steve Harmison fielding on the final day of England's tour match against South Australia, as the game petered out to a draw. Harmison pulled out before the start of the match at the Adelaide Oval on Friday with a side strain.

But England could have used his bowling as South Australia's top order created problems, batting their way to 2 for 164 before the teams agreed to finish the game an hour early. Matthew Hoggard and James Anderson - who both spent time off the ground - were unable to have the same impact with the new ball as they had in the first innings.

Daniel Harris, who finished unbeaten on 71, and Matthew Elliott (55) put on 94 for the first wicket before Anderson pulled in a one-handed catch at midwicket to claim Elliott from the bowling of Monty Panesar. Kevin Pietersen picked up the only other wicket, that of Cameron Borgas for 27, shortly before the teams shook hands.

England were dismissed for 415 immediately before lunch, after Sajid Mahmood entertained the crowd with some lusty hitting on his way to 41 from 46 balls. He took to the South Australia spinners, Cullen Bailey and Dan Cullen, striking a six from each of them as England lost 4 for 112 in the morning session.

Geraint Jones added 19 to his overnight total before Cullen had him caught at bat-pad for 33, while Andrew Flintoff kept the scoreboard ticking over until he was bowled attempting a slog off Bailey for 47. Mahmood was stumped off the part-time spin of Darren Lehmann and when Anderson was caught behind off Bailey for 9 the tourists finished their innings with a lead of 168 runs.

The signs were good for England earlier in the match, when Ian Bell (132) and Paul Collingwood (80) put together a 178-run partnership on day two. Each of the top six that will line up in the first Test at Brisbane have scored at least one half-century during the warm-up matches, while the bowlers - with the exception of Harmison - have clocked up useful miles.