Cricket: Warne and Lee cut through England

LONDON - Shane Warne and Brett Lee combined spin and speed with ruthless efficiency to put Australia in sight of victory in the first Ashes test at Lord's on Saturday.

Taking over where Glenn McGrath had left off on Thursday, the pair reduced England to 156 for five in their second innings after Australia set the home side an improbable 420 to win on the third day.

Warne gave a mesmerising display of wrist spin punctuated by a series of full-throated, theatrical appeals.

He finished the day with three for 46 from 15 overs while Lee, bounding in with undiminished enthusiasm from the Pavilion End in his first test since January last year, captured two for 58.

Kevin Pietersen, England's first innings hero, played another fearless and intelligent innings, taking the attack to the Australian bowlers on the way to 42 not out.

He hooked Lee for a mighty six off the front foot, giving the crowd something to cheer in another dispiriting day for England supporters.

Marcus Trescothick and Andrew Strauss gave England a deceptively smooth start to their bid to become only the fourth team to score in more than 400 to win a test, taking the total to 80 without loss before Lee struck.

Strauss, on 37, lobbed a quick delivery with a horizontal bat into the covers and the athletic Lee responded with a quick sprint and dive before gleefully clinging to the ball.

Sixteen runs later Trescothick, who had survived a raucous series of lbw shouts from an increasingly exasperated Warne, edged a ball delivered from the front of the hand straight to Matthew Hayden at slip for 44.

Ian Bell, surrounded by a slip, gully, short leg and captain Ricky Ponting at silly mid-off, became Warne's second lbw victim for eight.

Captain Michael Vaughan showed his increasing fallibility around the off stump when he was bowled for four by Lee, and Andy Flintoff was caught behind off Warne for three, giving test cricket's leading wicket taker three for 10 from 32 deliveries.

The admirably composed Simon Katich orchestrated the first passage of play after Australia resumed at 292 for seven.

He lost Lee for eight to the second runout of the innings when Ashley Giles struck the stumps at the bowler's end but Jason Gillespie proved an admirable replacement, watching the ball carefully on to his bat and reaching 13 before Simon Jones uprooted his leg stump.

Katich square cut Flintoff for four to bring up the 300 and added to the England paceman's discomfort by stroking three consecutive boundaries.

The compact left-hander glanced Flintoff for a single to bring up his seventh test half century from 81 balls with eight fours.

McGrath played with the aplomb of an opening batsman rather than a number 11, reaching 20 not out before Katich upper cut Steve Harmison to Simon Jones at third man and was out for 67.

Australia, who have controlled the match since McGrath's sensational five-wicket spell on Thursday, were assisted by some unacceptably sloppy England fielding.

After Pietersen had spilled three catches on the first two days, wicketkeeper Geraint Jones became the latest culprit.

Jones gave further ammunition to his critics by dropping Gillespie with the score at 333 for eight off Simon Jones, flooring a straightforward chance diving one-handed to his right.

McGrath was also given a reprieve when a flier from Simon Jones caught his right glove and lobbed into the air. Geraint Jones made ground and threw himself forward but this time the ball popped out of both gloves.

McGrath had another escape when Flintoff dropped the simplest of chances at second slip off the luckless Jones, who then showed his team mates how it should be done with a well-judged catch at third man to dismiss Katich.

Scoreboard at close on the third day:

Australia won the toss and elected to bat

Australia first innings - 190 all out

England first innings - 155 all out

Australia second innings (overnight 279-7)
J Langer run out 6
M Hayden b Flintoff 34
R Ponting c sub b Hoggard 42
D Martyn lbw b Harmison 65
M Clarke b Hoggard 91
S Katich c S Jones b Harmison 67
A Gilchrist b Flintoff 10
S Warne c Giles b Harmison 2
B Lee run out 8
J Gillespie b S Jones 13
G McGrath not out 20
Extras (b-10, lb-8, nb-8) 26
Total (all out, 100 5 overs) 384

Fall of wickets: 1-18 2-54 3-100 4-255 5-255 6-274 7-279

8-289 9-341

Bowling: Harmison 27.5 6 54 3, Hoggard 16 1 56 2 (2nb), Flintoff 27 4 123 2 (5nb), Jones 18 1 69 1 (1nb), Giles 11 1 56 0, Bell 1 0 8 0

England second innings

M Trescothick c Hayden b Warne 44
A Strauss c and b Lee 37
M Vaughan b Lee 4
I Bell lbw b Warne 8
K Pietersen not out 42
A Flintoff c Gilchrist b Warne 3
G Jones not out 6
Extras (b-4, lb-5, nb-3) 12
Total (for five wickets, 48 overs) 156

Fall of wickets: 1-80 2-96 3-104 4-112 5-119

Bowling: McGrath 12 1 25 0, Lee 15 3 58 2 (1nb), Gillespie 6 0 18 0 (2nb), Warne 15 2 46 3

(* In England's first innings, officials have now ruled that A Giles was out c Gilchrist b Lee not hit wicket b Lee)

- REUTERS