Harmison set to play in England warm-up

The Durham fast bowler had sent anxiety through the tourists' ranks after reporting stiffness in his lower back, prompting England to add Chris Tremlett to the squad as cover, but after bowling for half an hour in the nets on Saturday, Harmison was passed fit to give England a major boost as they prepare for next week's opening Test at Hamilton.

"He worked hard before he came out here and had to pass a fitness test," revealed coach Peter Moores. "The ball was left very much in their court to be fit enough to play and made that pretty clear."

He added: "But with us being in New Zealand, if we'd have sent Tremlett home it would have taken him two days to get back and another two days to come back out and he'd be tired out if we needed him for the first Test so it seemed sensible to keep him on.

"It's been a difficult situation for Harmy with the birth of his child, which delayed him coming out for a few days.

"We know about the one-day guys because they've been out here and we've seen them play and the Test match guys have worked very hard and want to get out on the park and play."

One-day captain Paul Collingwood and key batsman Kevin Pietersen were expected to be rested from the match, but all the other 15 players in the squad were expected to be used at some point during the two-day match.

The Invitational side includes former New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming and internationals Mathew Sinclair, Peter Fulton, Matthew Bell and Mark Gillespie.

England were given immediate batting practice in the two-day encounter after losing the toss and being put into bat.