Rogers hits form on the Isle of Wight

Chris Rogers sent a statement of intent with a brisk half-century on the Isle of Wight to erase any lingering doubts his Caribbean concussion could impact his Ashes tour.

The veteran left-hander showed he was well on the way to being back to his best form in compiling 70 from 88 balls, with nine fours and a six as his side were bettered by the 'Harris XI' by eight wickets in the Ashes warm-up clash. 

Rogers missed both Australia's Tests against the West Indies after he suffered headaches and dizzy spells following a blow to the helmet in the nets ahead of the first match in Dominica.

He took longer to recover than expected, and credited Cricket Australia's Bupa Support Team staff for making the tough but correct call to withdraw him from those matches.

Shaun Marsh took his place at the top of the order but failed to convert a half-century into three figures in the second Test in the Caribbean to keep the door ajar for Rogers' return.

A veteran of 290 first-class matches since his debut in 1998, Rogers has widely foreshadowed he will announce his retirement at the conclusion of this Ashes series and is desperately keen to end his career on a high.

The 37-year-old suffered an early exit at the hands of fellow Ashes veteran Ryan Harris in the first innings of this exhibition match that featured not only several Ashes hopefuls but a horde of young and upcoming Australian and British talent.

There was to be no repeat of the first innings lapse where Rogers was left kicking himself after nicking a wide half-volley behind.

Instead, the 37-year-old cautiously saw off Harris and then plundered the remainder of the attack before he was well caught at mid-on.

Harris continued to demonstrate his potency with the new ball by removing Tom Alsop with his fourth ball of the morning, the first faced by the batsman.

Alsop, a bright young batsmen who has represented England at under-19 level, had scored a first-innings 75, giving stick to Harris along the way, but the Aussie had his revenge at Newclose Cricket Ground today.

It was to be the paceman's only wicket as he bowled just the four overs, conceding 15 runs.

His bowling output may have been less on day two – Harris bowled 15 overs the previous day across spells of six, three and six overs – but he also showed why he's ranked the world's No.6 Test allrounder with a solid 48 from 66 balls.

Harris hit four boundaries and two sixes in his knock and would have rued being bowled chasing his half-century with a big slog.

Peter Nevill followed that wicket with a sharp stumping for his first dismissal of the match but the 'Harris XI' took a 23-run first-innings lead having reached 6-306 in reply to the 'Rogers XI' 8-283.

The match played under England counties second XI rules saw both teams declare their first innings after 70 overs, and their second after 34 were bowled.

Joe Gatting, nephew of the former England captain Mike, showed cricketing skill runs strong in that family, batting throughout the 70 overs to post the game's only century, an unbeaten 153 for the Harris XI.

Mitchell Marsh did not bowl but added 22 in the 'Rogers XI' second innings, while Tom Andrews scored 30 and Commonwealth Bank Southern Stars' Alex Blackwell hit an unbeaten 16 after scoring a first-innings duck.

It allowed the Rogers XI to set a target of 126 in 34 overs for the Harris XI. The real winner out of this exercise, however, was Darren Lehmann and the rest of the Australian brains trust, content their players had all showed positive signs.

The Qantas Tour of the British Isles formally begins this weekend when the full Australian squad hits the training paddock ahead of four-day fixtures against Kent (starting June 25) and Essex (July 1).

No-one will get you closer to the Australian team's Ashes tour than cricket.com.au. We will stream matches live into Australia on all devices, including the Cricket Australia Live app – available on iTunes and Google Play – and will have a comprehensive news and video team on the ground at every match. You won't miss a thing!