Gary Ballance and Ben Stokes missed the chance to press their claims to England's problem No6 position in a mildly embarrassing collapse either side of lunch on the last day of the first Ashes tour match.

Ian Bell and Jonathan Trott had again made batting look a doddle in extending their third-wicket stand to 193 before Bell was called back into the pavilion by the management – and marked "retired out" in the scorebook for 115, denying him a red-ink boost to his average in this first-class fixture.

But England then lost their remaining seven wickets for 57 to leave Trott unbeaten on 113 – good news for his average, but leaving the team director, Andy Flower, with more questions than answers ahead of the first Test in Brisbane.

Ballance's selection ahead of his Yorkshire team-mate Jonny Bairstow in the middle order seemed to have given him the first chance to impress. But on a pitch on which Joe Root was the only previous batsman to have been dismissed without scoring at least 50 – and he made 36 – the left-hander fell for a golden duck, as the persistent left-arm seamer Ryan Duffield finally gained reward for his efforts throughout the innings with a good delivery that left Ballance off the pitch and found his outside edge.

The 23-year-old could hardly have made a worse start to his international career, having been out for a second-ball duck in his only previous England appearance, in the ODI against Ireland in Dublin in September – although obviously, these are very early days.

Matt Prior came in at six ahead of Stokes, and showed that captaincy would not affect his positive approach by hooking his second ball over mid-wicket for four. But Prior's aggression backfired later in the same over as he drove extravagantly at a ball well wide of off-stump, and edged another catch to his opposing wicketkeeper Tom Triffitt.

Stokes, who had already made a bad start to the tour with bowling figures of 10-0-56-1, failed to make amends with the bat as he became Triffitt's third victim in four overs, in his case cutting at a wide one from the Glamorgan all-rounder Jim Allenby.

Steve Finn, batting unusually high at No8, joined Trott to add 35 in 10 overs before lunch, but triggered a tumble of the last four wickets for nine inside four overs after the interval when he was bowled smearing unattractively across the line at Michael Beer's left-arm spin.

Chris Tremlett lasted only two balls, trapped lbw pushing forward at Beer, and Boyd Rankin became the third man to fall for a duck, in his case a first-baller like Ballance, when Allenby had him and Jimmy Anderson caught behind with consecutive deliveries to complete figures of four for 58.

The silver lining to the collapse for England was that it gave each of their trio of tall fast bowlers another decent spell on the last afternoon.

Rankin, who had improved considerably after a shocking start in the first innings, was the first to impress, having Luke Towers edging to third slip and nipping one back to trap the left-handed Marcus Harris lbw in his first four overs to leave the Chairman's XI on 24 for two.

There was no joy for Tremlett in a five-over opening spell, and Stokes was expensive again – although he did have Chris Lynn dropped by Root at second slip, one of three chances to go down early in the innings.

Ballance had failed to cling on to a reflex chance at short-leg in Tremlett's second over, and Lynn was reprieved by Rankin, diving to his left at mid-on, in Finn's first over from the River End. His first ball had been spanked through the covers for four and at tea, with none for 23 from three overs following one for 123 from 23 in the first innings, the Middlesex man seemed to be bowling himself down the pecking order.

But perhaps significantly, Finn was given another long bowl after the interval, and finally hinted at finding some pace and rhythm. In his ninth over he had Mitch Marsh, who had subjected him to some punishment, lbw and then Triffitt caught behind. Even Tremlett took a wicket, his first of the match in his 28th sweaty over, before the draw was agreed shortly before 5pm.

Assuming Stuart Broad and Jimmy Anderson, who was not required to bowl in the second innings after doing the necessary first time around, are both selected for next week's game against Australia A in Hobart, it will be fascinating to see which other seamer wins the nod to support them.