Harmison Given Shot at Test Place

Steve Harmison will have the chance to stake a claim for selection in England's first Test in Sri Lanka after being included in the final warm-up match.

The fast bowler has been named in the XI which takes on a Sri Lanka Cricket Board President's XI in a first-class fixture, starting on Sunday. The match will also see Owais Shah and Ravi Bopara contest the number six spot.

Harminson, whose kit was held up in transit from Johannesburg, managed six erratic overs in the free-for-all practice match earlier this week, but he has been preferred to Stuart Broad for the final game.

Ryan Sidebottom, who was the pick of England's bowlers at the beginning of the week, has also been rested but looks assured of a Test place. England coach Peter Moores said the game would give Harmison a good chance to prove himself.

"He will be interested on how he bowls in these conditions in what will be a first-class game," Moores said. "With only three seamers there will be more overs to bowl. When you share it around you do not go through the same process as a bowler.

"You don't get your first, second and third spells and don't get to bowl when fatigued. He is the same as everybody else, it is a pretty even playing field and it is how you perform.

"We will make the call for the Test as we see it but we will pick who we think are the best bowlers. You don't want to take risks unless you have to and I am hoping through the fullness of time, building up to that Test match, it becomes clear to everybody within the selection process, what style of cricket we are playing, who best fits that, who's bowling best, who's batting best."

Moores insists that although there is only one batting place undecided the bowling is wide open for Kandy a week today and Jimmy Anderson and Matthew Hoggard will share the pace-bowling duties with Harmison. "We try to make sure we get the right amount of cricket into our lads and also we give ourselves every chance to identify what we think is the best team for that first Test," he added.

· England's team for the warm-up game in full: MP Vaughan (captain), AN Cook, IR Bell, KP Pietersen, OA Shah, RS Bopara, MJ Prior (wicketkeeper), SJ Harmison, MJ Hoggard, JM Anderson, MS Panesar.