Coach Trevor Bayliss was not concerned after England toiled in the field on the final day of the last warm-up match ahead of the first Ashes Test in Brisbane.
After several productive sessions with the bat against a Cricket Australia XI in Townsville – Mark Stoneman and Dawid Malan both hitting centuries – the tourist struggled to make inroads on Saturday and had to settle for a draw after taking only one wicket.
England enjoyed success in the first innings as CA XI was dismissed for 250, and when the visitor posted 515 in reply a victory looked to be on the cards.
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However, centuries from Matthew Short and Jason Sangha held up its progress, the pair putting on 263 for the fourth wicket as England got little assistance from the flat pitch – something it will undoubtedly encounter again over the five-match series with Australia.
'Good experience'
It was not a worry for Bayliss, though, as he suggested it was good to experience such a situation ahead of the highly anticipated Ashes series. "Over the three games we have got about as much as we possibly could," he said.
"If you play cricket long enough, those days are going to come. Today wasn't the perfect day of cricket for us; we spent a bit of time in the dirt. If we're realistic across the five Test matches, we'll probably have another one or two of those days. It was probably good to experience it, and the heat as well."
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And Bayliss revealed the tough day had not dented England's confidence as it turns its attentions to the Gabba and Steve Smith's side. "We are here to win," he declared. "The boys are nice and confident and they are looking forward to it. We have 11 players to play next week, who are all very good players. They will have to do very well in order to win."
'Pretty good' stats
Sangha's 133 was his maiden first-class hundred and saw him become the second youngest player to post century against England – just behind the great Sachin Tendulkar. "Those stats are pretty good," said the 18-year-old.
"You can't be focusing too much on trying to beat this record or that record. Scoring a hundred against England is pretty good. I thought they [England's bowlers] were quite good to be honest, their attack is quite good, they bowled well with the new ball, it's going to be a great Ashes series."
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