The Ashes: Cook guides England to 167/3

Alastair Cook continued his series domination of the Australian bowlers, scoring an unbeaten 61 Tuesday and sharing important partnerships with Andrew Strauss and Kevin Pietersen as England cut the first-innings deficit to 113 runs on day two of the fifth Ashes test.

England, which has already retained the Ashes with a 2-1 lead coming into the last match, is well poised to claim its first test series win in Australia since 1987.

Cook played the anchor role in a 98-run opening stand with skipper Strauss, who blazed 60 from 58 balls, and then combined with No. 4 Pietersen (36) for 66 runs after England lost two wickets for one run before recovering to 167-3 at stumps in reply to Australia's 280.

Johnson, who top scored for Australia with 53 and shared a defiant 76-run rearguard stand with No. 10 Ben Hilfenhaus, removed Jonathan Trott and Pietersen to return figures of 2-42 in 12 overs.

Cook, who is chasing his third century of the series and has already scored more than 640 runs, got a lucky reprieve on 46 when he miscued a catch to mid-on that appeared to give rookie left-arm spinner Michael Beer his first test wicket. But umpire Billy Bowden referred the decision, suspecting a no-ball, which was confirmed by the video umpire.

Earlier, Strauss raced to 50 with a slashing boundary wide of slips and was in fine touch with eight boundaries and a six before he was bowled by Hilfenhaus with a ball that pitched outside off stump and straightened.

England slipped to 99-2 next over when Trott played on to Johnson, falling for his first ever duck in test cricket.

Pietersen, who was loudly booed as he walked to the crease, turned his first ball for four.

He then belted Beer's first ball in test cricket for a boundary and then almost played onto his stumps in a tempestuous innings before he was finally out attempting a hook against Johnson and directing it straight to Beer at deep backward square.

Night watchman Jimmy Anderson survived 20 minutes and was unbeaten on one at stumps.

Conditions were overcast for most of the day, but there was no repeat of the rain and bad light that interrupted the opening day.

Anderson thrived in overcast conditions conducive to swing before the sun started to emerge, drying out the pitch and the outfield at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

Australia resumed Tuesday at 134-4 - in an extended first session after 31 overs were lost on day one due to rain and bad light - and was in danger of another sub-200 first innings at 8-189 before Johnson and Hilfenhaus combined for the best partnership of the innings.

Anderson finished off the tailend revival when Hilfenhaus swiped at a short-pitch ball and Matthew Prior took an acrobatic, leaping caught behind.

After losing four wickets for 46 runs, the last two Australian wickets added 91 runs to restore some hope for Australia, which is desperate to level the series at 2-2 after England ensured it will retain the Ashes with an emphatic win last week in the fourth test at Melbourne.

Johnson dominated an entertaining partnership with Hilfenhaus before he was out for 53, bowled by a Tim Bresnan inswinger.

The 10th-wicket pair belted 16 in three balls after lunch, delighting the SCG crowd, with Hilfenhaus driving Bresnan over the mid-wicket boundary on the last ball of one over and Johnson swiping Swann's first two balls in the next over for four and six through the same area.

- AP