Adelaide: A flamboyant leg-spinner with dyed blonde hair kept sending English batsmen packing at Adelaide Oval on Wednesday. It was almost like the old days.

It is far too soon to label Daniel Fallins "the next Shane Warne." But the 21-year-old New South Welshman - so obscure that his name was misspelled on the venue's big screen - put his correctly spelled name up in lights, by taking 4-71 on an even opening day of England's four-day tour match against the Cricket Australia XI.

Again there were promising signs for the tourists, who were 8-278 at stumps. They had four batsmen reach a half-century in weekend's two-day match in Perth, and three did so on Wednesday. But Alastair Cook's poor start to the tour continued, as the opener fell meekly for 15 from 28 balls. Cook edged Victorian left-arm quick Jackson Coleman to CA XI wicketkeeper and captain Tim Paine, giving Coleman - a former VFL footballer - his maiden first-class wicket. It followed Cook's duck in the tour opener.

There was more success however for Cook's successor as England captain, Joe Root, who avoided back-to-back failures to make 58. Cook's opening partner Mark Stoneman also made the most of a life given to him on 17 by CA XI captain Tim Paine to make his second half-century of the tour.

Paine - vying to regain his spot in Tasmania's XI and push his remote Test hopes - should have had another catch not long after, with Gurinder Sandhu denied the wicket of Stoneman after the gloveman spilled a regulation chance moving to his left.

The other man to fall in the first session was James Vince, bowled for 33 by a fuller ball in what was Fallins' first-over in first-class cricket, one celebrated with a "double dab."

Stoneman eventually departed for 61, as Jake Carder plucked a brilliant one-handed catch at midwicket off Fallins.

Root - the No. 2 ranked Test batsman in the world - had been contentiously sent on his way for nine against the WA XI, but reached his 50 with minimal fuss.

He departed shortly before the dinner break, having mis-timed a sweep to long-off where he was caught by Ryan Gibson as shadows crept across the pitch, to give Fallins a third wicket.

A fourth came not long after the break, as Paine snaffled an edge from Jonny Bairstow, with the English 'keeper gone for nine.

Despite concerns about pink-ball carnage during the difficult dusk period, Chris Woakes and Dawid Malan - who was a half-century in Perth - advanced comfortably through the bulk of the final session, but wickets tumbled late.

Woakes edged one from Coleman to Gibson first slip on 33. Sandhu then nabbed a belated wicket as Craig Overton was caught at point for a duck, before Malan became Coleman's third scalp, gone after edging to the cordon on 63 in the day's final over.

Mason Crane was unbeaten without scoring at the other end.

Speaking after play, CA X1 debutant Fallins was rapt with how his day had gone.

"I've never played at Adelaide Oval before. To even get a game has been a great opportunity," he said.

He explained the backstory to his celebration: "It came from a few of my mates mucking around. It started in grade cricket and getting to these bigger and bigger games I thought I'd carry it through. A bit of fun."

As flagged, England opted to rest veteran quick Stuart Broad, while all-rounder Moeen Ali was left out as a precaution following his recent side strain.

Meanwhile, England didn't take long to call-up bowling all-rounder Tom Curran to replace Steven Finn, who was ruled out of the tour on Tuesday with a knee injury.

A fast-medium bowler with Surrey, Curran, 22, was born in South Africa but went to school in Zimbabwe, the country his late father Kevin represented in one-day internationals in the 1980s. Curran played one ODI and three Twenty20 internationals for England earlier this year.

Finn, 28, was set to see a specialist when he returned home to determine whether he needed surgery. Scans showed that Finn had torn cartilage in his left knee following a training mishap in Perth last week.

England 1st Innings

A COOK c Paine b Coleman 15 (28)
M STONEMAN c Carder b Fallins 61 (130)
J VINCE b Fallins 33 (64)
J ROOT c Gibson b Fallins 58 (89)
D MALAN c Short b Coleman 63 (128)
J BAIRSTOW c Paine b Fallins 9 (21)
C WOAKES c Gibson b Coleman 33 (67)
C OVERTON c Carder b Sandhu 0 (9)
M CRANE not out 0 (1)

Sundries (5lb 1nb) 6
Eight wickets for 278

Fall: 24 (Cook), 85 (Vince), 155 (Stoneman), 178 (Root), 195 (Bairstow), 271 (Woakes), 278 (Overton), 278 (Malan).
Bowling: J Coleman 20.2-4-66-3, G Sandhu 21-3-55-1, S Milenko 19-6-49-0 (1nb), D Fallins 21-1-71-4, M Short 5-0-19-0, J Sangha 3-1-13-0.
Overs: 89.2.
Umpires: Simon Fry, David Shepard. Match Referee: Simon Taufel.