England are gaining momentum - Langer

Justin Langer was full of praise for England's performance after the drawn warm-up match in Perth, in which England came within five runs of a memorable win. He singled out Simon Jones, who took five wickets as Western Australia were bowled out for 248 in their second innings.

"I thought England played very well," Langer enthused. "Nasser's innings was superb, the best I've ever seen him bat and he looks very focused - that's going to be an issue for us to sort out in our preparation for the Test match.

"It's all about momentum and I was expecting them to gain some leading into the Test match. I'm sure England will take a lot of positives out of the last three days which is a shame.

"I've played at the WACA for 12 years and when pace bowlers get it right they tend to clean up the tail and Jones did well. I thought he probably bowled a bit short, but he looks a pretty good prospect.

"He's been a bit rusty so it's probably not that surprising that he bowled short some of the time, but when he got it right, anyone who swings the ball back into the tail is always going to be a dangerous prospect."

Jones himself is hoping to play in the final warm-up game in Brisbane against Queensland, which starts on Saturday. It was his first full outing since he injured his side on his Test debut against India at Lord's last July.

"I'm very happy with the way things went in this game," he admitted. "It's the first game I've really played since I did the injury and I'm pleased with the progress I've made.

"My fitness has come on a heck of a lot over the last week and a half. I've still got a bit to go before I'm full pace, I'd say another 10%, but I was able to bowl the odd ball a little bit quicker.

"I had a chat with Fletch (England coach Duncan Fletcher) before the game and he said just to work on the rhythms, not to try and go full pace yet. I also did some work on my action in the nets with Graham Dilley. It has worked really well for me in this game."