England in high spirits after warm-up

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Despite a scan shedding some positive light on Steve Harmison's back niggle, he is almost certainly out of Saturday's first Test, while James Anderson appears to be fit after an ankle scare.

"The final XI was always going to be a tough one and I guess that number six position is going to be a tough call, whichever way we go." said Vaughan.

While picking the bowling attack appears to be a straightforward affair, the number six batting position is contentious. Owais Shah started the tour as the favourite but the uncapped Ravi Bopara has built a compelling case for inclusion.

Harmison was chosen for the five-wicket victory over a Sri Lanka Cricket Board President's XI ahead of Stuart Broad to allow him the chance to prove both form and fitness.

Although he was padded up to bat next on Tuesday, it is almost unthinkable that England would risk the 29-year-old in a Test match, having broken down after 63 competitive deliveries of what was effectively a trial.

"All I know is that he is moving a lot better, yesterday (Monday) he was moving a lot more gingerly," Vaughan said of Harmison, who is pencilled in to net on Thursday. "We will have to see how he responds over the next 48 hours."

Matthew Hoggard rubber-stamped his recall after an injury-plagued 2007 with a stunning spell of 9-3-25-5 on the second evening and eight wickets in the match while his makeshift new-ball partner Bopara may have stolen a march on rival Shah.

Shah response looked in good touch in the 246-run chase, guiding the tourists home with an unbeaten 33, having scratched around at his first visit to the crease.

"Ravi has had a good start to the trip and is an exciting cricketer," said Vaughan. "He gets a bit of zip off the pitch and in the first innings when the wicket was playing at its flattest, he beat the bat on a number of occasions and reverse swung the ball. But Ace (Shah) was out there at the end, time in the middle will have been invaluable for him."