Australia have drawn against the England Lions in their final warm-up game before the first Ashes Test at Cardiff on Wednesday.

The tourists started the day on 276/4 in their second innings and eventually declared on 438-4 with all-rounder Marcus North putting his name forward for the first Test with a well-crafted 191 not out.

England needed 445 runs to win, but it was more important for them to survive the day and play out for a draw. It proved to be a relatively easy task as Australia found little help from a docile wicket as England ended on 162-4.

Joe Denly once again played well to topscore in the England second innings with 36. But it was another poor performance from Ashes hopeful Ian Bell, who could only hit 20 to go with his first innings golden duck.

Australia captain Ricky Ponting felt his side "got a lot" from the game and was especially pleased with the performance of Brett Lee, who ripped into England in the first innings to claim a five-wicket haul.

"This wicket will be similar to the one we have to confront down there (Cardiff), so we couldn't have asked for much more as far as our preparation goes," said Ponting.

"Brett Lee really stood up for us. Once the ball started to swing, we know he is as good as anyone in the world in terms of exploiting those conditions. Marcus North batted well in the second innings, and Mike Hussey looks terrific, while Michael Clarke got some quality time in the middle.

"We can travel down to Cardiff happy with what we have done and the intensity automatically steps up when you play Test cricket."
© Adfero Ltd