North relieved with ton

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A relieved Marcus North credited a mid-match hit with coach Tim Nielsen as the catalyst for his form reversal after booking his place in Australia's Test side with an unbeaten century on Friday night.

North was not out on 106 entering the fourth and final day of Australia's tour match with the England Lions at Worcester.

He blamed his previous three failures on the tour on not watching the ball closely enough.

"Maybe it was a bit of transition of not playing a lot out in the middle and having a lot of net (sessions)," North said.

"The first innings was an example of not watching the ball enough and last night and this morning I did a few drills with Tim and started watching the ball and I felt a lot more comfortable today."

North admitted he had felt under pressure to cement his position at No.6 after his lean start to the tour.

There is a big chance he will now play as Australia's No.1 spinner in Cardiff should the struggling Nathan Hauritz be overlooked by selectors.

"I am very comfortable with my bowling. I always like to bowl as many overs as I can," he said.

"It was good to get a decent bowl down at Hove last week and it was good to get a few overs yesterday."