SAJID Mahmood insisted England's spirit was still intact after their first proper outing since slumping to defeat in the second Ashes Test at Adelaide.

The Lancashire seamer claimed two wickets as the tourists restricted Western Australia to 309 for eight at the end of the first day of their two-day match at the WACA.

It was their first serious match since crashing to a six-wicket defeat to Australia on Tuesday, although five members of the squad were also involved as the ECB Chairman's XI slipped to another comprehensive defeat to their Australian counterparts in yesterday's festival game at Lilac Hill.

Mahmood, who finished with two for 61 today while Lancashire team-mate James Anderson grabbed three for 47, believes the display showed England had overcome their disappointment from Adelaide.

"I think everyone was upbeat and buzzing around the field today," said Mahmood. "Everyone was running around between overs and everyone is very confident after the way we bowled and fielded.

"I think Tuesday is out of our systems pretty much now. There were a lot of people pushing each other on and a lot of noise in the field and it was pretty good to see.

"It was a big disappointment to lose like we did and we're just trying to look forward and move on."

Mahmood was particularly impressed with the form of Anderson, who was the pick of the attack and finished with impressive figures of 23-6-47-3.

"I thought he bowled brilliantly," said Mahmood. "He put the ball in the right areas and beat the bat quite a lot of time and got himself three wickets.

"It's good to be in competition with him and the other bowlers because it makes me work that bit harder and makes me want to perform that extra bit more."

Today's match also signalled the return of recovering captain Michael Vaughan, who featured for England for the first time since a tour match in Mumbai on February 18 this year.

Vaughan fielded all day and even took charge of the team for two overs when acting captain Andrew Strauss, who was leading the side in the absence of the rested Andrew Flintoff, went briefly off the field.

"He has had his injuries and been out of the game for a long while so it was good to see him back on the field for a full day," admitted Mahmood.

"He was still vocal, he was still his usual self - nothing's changed about him and it was good to have him there. He was a huge success last year in the Ashes and to have him back on the field was great for the lads."

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