Adelaide: England faces a desperate battle to avoid going two down in the Ashes series after Australia gave it a roasting at the Adelaide Oval on Saturday.

The Australians, who comprehensively won the opening Brisbane Test by 384 runs inside four days, looked poised for another massive win on the fourth day on Sunday after declaring with a massive first innings lead of 210 runs.

Australia called a halt to its run spree at 552 for nine late on a long, hot day in the field for England and then had the tourists on the run in the 12 remaining overs.

At stumps, England was on the ropes at 36 for three with captain Nasser Hussain bowled by Andy Bichel four balls from the end of the day's play. First innings centurion Michael Vaughan was 17 not out.

Australia batted itself into an impregnable position on a baking day with Ponting scoring 154, his fifth century in his last seven Tests. He shared in a record third- wicket stand of 242 runs with Damien Martyn (95) to establish the platform for some lusty hitting by Adam Gilchrist and Andy Bichel.

Bichel crashed 48 off 56 balls and the ever-dangerous Gilchrist smacked 54 off 67 deliveries with four fours and two sixes. Their eighth-wicket partnership yielded 77 runs in 61 minutes.

Gilchrist was throwing his bat at everything when he was caught behind signalling an innings closure by Steve Waugh in order to have a crack at the weary Englishman on a day when the temperature peaked at 37C (99F).

There was instant reward for Australia with Jason Gillespie trapping Marcus Trescothick lbw for a duck and Mark Butcher (4) lasted four balls before he fell lbw to Glenn McGrath in the third over leaving England at 17 for 2.

Just when England looked like it could negotiate to stumps without further loss Bichel came on for his first over and with his second ball clean bowled Hussain. He also got the crucial first innings wicket of Vaughan in the last over of Thursday's opening day.

England's calamities were in sharp contrast to Australia's turn at the crease with Ponting and Martyn steadily accumulating runs up until the 36th over of the day when Martyn fell five runs short of his sixth Test hundred.

His stand with Ponting eclipsed the previous highest by an Australian pair in Adelaide of 189 by Arthur Morris and Lindsay Hassett against England.

When Martyn departed at 356 for three, Australia was 14 runs ahead but the objective was to grind England out of the Test and the runs kept ticking over against an under- manned English bowling attack.

Pace spearhead Andy Caddick left the field with back problems and didn't return for the afternoon session leaving Hussain with just four bowlers to rotate in the stifling heat.

England had some moments, grabbing three wickets for 67 in the hour before tea. Ponting's unusually restrained innings came to an end when he top-edged a pull shot off Craig White to be caught by Richard Dawson. He batted for 349 minutes, faced 269 balls with only nine fours for his 14th Test century.

Hussain showed contempt for opposing captain Steve Waugh by setting a spread field to encourage Ponting to hit a single and get Waugh on strike.

But Waugh had the last laugh. Hussain dropped him on one at short leg. The English skipper injured his left thumb in botching the catch and left the field for a short time for treatment.

Hussain's field placement to exploit a perceived Waugh weakness to short-pitched deliveries rebounded when the Australian skipper began to blossom and scored 34 before he fell to a great catch at point by Mark Butcher off White.

Local hero Darren Lehmann only lasted 22 balls before he returned to the dressing room for five, edging to substitute Andy Flintoff at second slip off White.

White, who delighted in dismissing his brother-in-law Lehmann, finished with four for 106 off 28 overs.

Copyright AFP 2001

Extras:
Ponting leads Aussies towards big total, Eng collapses