Key And Trescothick Lay Foundation For England

Openers Marcus Trescothick and Robert Key put the icing on England's best day's performance since arriving Down Under.

After a strong Western Australia line-up was dismissed for 213, the England batsmen raced to 54 without loss in just nine overs in reply.

Bad light halted the innings despite all four floodlights being on at the WACA in Perth.

On a first day of a three-day game disrupted by several showers, the tourists finally found their form.

Andrew Caddick was the pick of the attack with four for 49, but England's management will also have been delighted with with the performances of Simon Jones and Steve Harmison, who were paired together for the first time in a first-class match.

Durham fast bowler Harmison claimed two for 30 and demonstrated the progress he has made since his arrival over a week ago, removing both opener Scott Meuleman and explosive batsman Ryan Campbell.

Jones, rested for last week's two-day match, also showed encouraging signs having fully recovered from the side strain which sidelined him for most of last summer, and claimed a wicket.

Giles came on to claim three for 42 to cap a good all-round bowling performance for England after Nasser Hussain had no hesitation in deciding to bowl after winning the toss.

Faced with almost an hour to bat under the floodlights, England's opening pair responded superbly with Key hitting four boundaries off Brad Williams, the fast bowler most likely to be called into Australia's first Test squad if Jason Gillespie fails to recover from a calf strain.

Key finished unbeaten on 33 from only 30 balls while Trescothick reached 21 when play was finally halted after 38 minutes.

Harmison later admitted his confidence had taken a knock from his disappointing performance at Lilac Hill.

He said: "It wasn't brilliant today, but it was a lot better than at Lilac Hill and there's been a little bit of an improvement since then. I was possibly trying too hard during that first match, but it was a one-day game and I've never really played much one-day cricket.

"My confidence was dented a touch and I struggled early on, but I started to get some rhythm today and it felt a lot better. I'm gradually getting my confidence to where I want it to be and I want to get better and better."