Collingwood seizes his chance

Jamaica 281 and 106 for 6 (Giles 4-9) drew with England XII 320 and 259 for 6 (Collingwood 103, Flintoff 57)
Scorecard

To the general relief of everyone forced to play in or watch this match it is finally over. For the record - not that it matters as the game had long since ceased to have much meaning - the England XII (or should that be XIII?) drew with a Jamaican side which also opted to include an increasing array of participants.

The highlight of an inconsequential final day was a hundred from Paul Collingwood. He grabbed the opportunity of his inclusion to bat at No. 3 in the absence of the injured Mark Butcher to stake a claim for a place in the Test side. "Originally I was going to open," he beamed, "but I went down to No. 3, and it turned out champion. I know it's going to be a very hard top six to break into ... all I can do is put on as much pressure as possible." That he did. His only reprieve came at 94, when Brenton Parchment put down a sharp chance at slip. Collingwood eventually holed out to backward point only three balls after reaching his hundred.

The entertainment of the day came from Andrew Flintoff, who smacked a brutal half-century from 56 balls. Flintoff hammered Bevon Brown for six, and hit eight fours as well, after being missed at second slip when he had made only 1. He eventually fell for 57, after adding 110 for the third wicket with Collingwood.

It was not all good news for England's batsmen, however. Marcus Trescothick continued his ropey start to the tour, falling in the first over of the day without adding to his overnight 21. Trescothick had also been given a torrid time during his first-innings 7, and lasted just three balls before slicing a firm-footed drive off Dwight Mais to Parchment in the gully. He now has just two more innings to find his form ahead of next week's first Test, and he marched straight from the middle into the nets for extra practice with Duncan Fletcher.

Rikki Clarke was another who struggled again, and Ashley Giles's farcical run-out when his bat became tangled between his legs summed up the game. He trudged back to the pavilion with his England team-mates unable to disguise their mirth as they hid behind newspapers.

England declared 45 minutes before tea to give their bowlers another workout - there was a nominal target of 298 off a minimum of 38 overs. The last rites briefly flickered into something resembling life when Giles grabbed four quick wickets to reduce Jamaica to 80 for 6. But they played out time to secure the draw - not that anyone really cared.