Victoria 2 for 216 dec (Hill 105*, Hussey 67*) and 6 for 278 dec (Carters 68, McKay 58*) drew with England XI 2 for 184 dec (Strauss 66, Bell 60*) and 6 for 211 (Prior 102*, McKay 4-68)
The tourists were staring at defeat after Victoria's estranged Test fast bowler Clint McKay and newcomer Jayde Herrick had reduced them to 6-149 after being set 311 to win.
But England did get an invaluable innings into wicketkeeper-batsman Matt Prior, who has had precious little Test batting time in the wake of a first-ball duck at the Gabba.
He had precious little to do because of the top-order dominance in Adelaide, to the point has has faced 22 balls in the Test series.
Test opener Andrew Strauss went in at No. 8 and the skipper was 22 not out and the visitors 6-211 when play was called off with 15 overs remaining.
"It was just nice to get in the middle and have an opportunity to bat for a while, try and build an innings and get through a tricky patch," Prior said. "For me, it was perfect preparation for next week.
"This game has been pretty good for us I think. To go from the elation of that (Adelaide) Test match ... to this game, which has been quite a hard, attritional game ... was a good challenge for us."
The rain interruptions seemed to have no effect on Prior, who came in at No. 4 in a re-jigged England batting order designed to allow time in the middle for some men who had missed out so far on the trip. Steve Davies was sent out to open but his in-form partner, Alastair Cook, was the first to depart.
For the home side, Clint McKay led the bowling with 4-68 from 17 overs.
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