Strauss and Bell boost England

1 March 2008

Andrew Strauss celebrates reaching three figures on the final day of the tour match

Andrew Strauss and Ian Bell warmed up for next week's opening Test with confidence-boosting centuries as England took the opportunity to claim vital practice in their rain-hit final warm-up match against a Selection XI in Dunedin.

The pair both reached three figures as England racked up a 185-run lead by progressing to 325 for seven when rain ended the game around 20 minutes before the scheduled tea interval on the final day of their three-day match.

It was a particularly timely innings for Strauss, who was dropped before Christmas for the tour to Sri Lanka after going 25 Test innings without scoring a hundred.

But England would have been equally pleased that Bell followed up his impressive unbeaten 75 in the two-day match earlier this week to reach an unbeaten 104 when the weather brought an early end to proceedings.

Strauss resumed on 55 in the morning desperate for a big score after missing out both in the two-day match and the first innings of this game, and began positively with two early boundaries against seamer Mark Gillespie.

Bell - 21 not out overnight - began more slowly but branched out and hit his ninth boundary to reach his half-century while Strauss had to wait until after lunch to bring up his milestone.

When the left-hander did reach three figures - the first time he had done so for England since scoring 116 against Pakistan at Headingley in August 2006 - Strauss did it in style by crashing seamer Iain O'Brien through the covers for his 15th boundary.

Strauss retired at the end of the over for 104 to give Paul Collingwood some batting practice, but that backfired when the Durham all-rounder chipped to midmicket for a fourth-ball duck.

Tim Ambrose contributed a sprightly 33 before being bowled via a bottom edge by O'Brien, who has been included in New Zealand's squad for the opening Test, and Matthew Hoggard edged low to slip without scoring.

But Bell remained the constant in the innings and brought his century up with another cover drive for four off O'Brien, one of 15 fours and a six in his hundred.