This was the perfect vehicle to break-in three youngsters in Carters, Keath and Herrick and to cast more responsibility on the shoulders of Michael Hill. They all came up trumps. The result was secondary, the benefits lasting.

WHAT HAPPENED: 
Michael Hill was the star of the opening day with an unbeaten 105. He was well-supported by David Hussey who was on 67 when Cameron White declared the Bushrangers' innings closed at 2-216 at 5.15pm. Hill celebrated his milestone in style with a flourish of the bat, but enjoyed his share of luck. The 22-year-old was dropped at slip before he'd scored and thrice more when on 21, 62 and 92. England was 1-50 at stumps.

Andrew Strauss (66) and Ian Bell (60 not out) steered the visitors to 2-184 at lunch on day two when Strauss declared, conceding a 32-run first innings lead. After a steady start the Bushrangers surged to 6-278 at stumps. The highlight was a 75-run stand between Ryan Carters who top-scored with 68 and Alex Keath (46). Clint McKay and Jayde Herrick added 81 from just 37 deliveries inside the last half-hour.

White declared at the overnight score setting England 311 to win from 90 overs. The Bushrangers had the tourists on the run at 4-55 when lunch was taken early because of rain. In the end, Matt Prior batted the tourists to safety with an unbeaten 102 when the captains agreed to an early finish with the score at 6-211 and 15 overs still to be bowled.  Clint McKay bowled beautifully to return 4-68. More than two hours was lost on the day to rain.

THE HERO:
The Vics' newbies all distinguished themselves - Carters and Keath with the bat and Herrick with bat and ball, even if his stint at the crease in England's second innings was curtailed by two waist-high full tosses. The ball was greasy after all and Matt Prior, who was hit by the second one, took no offence.

THE VILLAIN: 
England's reserve quicks Chris Tremlett, Tim Bresnan and Ajmal Shahzad failed to impress. The match was billed as a bowl-off to see which of them would replace the injured Stuart Broad for the third Ashes Test in Perth. Between them they returned 1-216 for the match from 78 overs. The conditions didn't suit, but the tourists would have expected more.

DEFINING MOMENT: Cameron White's declaration
The Bushrangers would have been entitled to bat for two days after Cameron White won the toss. But White's declaration after 74 overs on the opening day with the score at 2-216 set the tone for the remainder of the contest.

MILESTONES: :
Two Victorians, Ryan Carters and Alex Keath made their first-class debuts while the match was Jayde Herrick's first for the state
Carters' 68 in the second innings was his maiden first-class half-century
Michael Hill's unbeaten 105 in the first innings was his maiden first-class century
David Hussey's first-innings 67 not out was his 52nd first-class half-century
Andrew Strauss scored his 64th career half-century (66) in the first innings
Ian Bell's unbeaten 60 in the first innings was his 64th first-class half-century.
Matt Prior's second innings 102 was his 23rd first-class century

THE UPSHOT: 
This was the perfect vehicle to break-in three youngsters in Carters, Keath and Herrick and to cast more responsibility on the shoulders of Michael Hill. They all came up trumps. The result was secondary, the benefits lasting.

WHERE TO NOW: Redbacks back-to-back
The Bushrangers complete their pre-Christmas program with a Ryobi Cup match against the Redbacks on Wednesday 15 December at Adelaide Oval followed by a Sheffield Shield match starting two days later against the same opponents at the same venue.

WHO SAID WHAT: Michael Hill on his maiden first-class century
"I was really excited this morning. I woke up and thought 'how good would it be to get a few runs?' You need a bit of luck in this game and I think I had my fair share this innings. I was over the moon. I know it's only a small stepping stone but hopefully there can be more to come. Having a really good friend up the other end in David Hussey with me got me through some pretty tough times. I was in the 90s and ... he just said, 'don't worry, it will come'."

12 DECEMBER, 2010 Angus Morgan