Andrew Strauss (106) broke through the mental barrier with a gutsy first century against Australia as England racked up 280-6 in 61.5 overs, setting Australia 423 to win the game.

By the close Australia had reached 24-0 with Justin Langer (14*) and Matthew Hayden (5*) having survived a tricky spell of 10 overs, mainly bowled by Ashley Giles and Michael Vaughan in tandem to avoid going off for bad light. The turn they found may encourage England to attack with spin from both ends at times on the fifth day.

Vaughan's cautious late declaration left Australia needing to beat the world record score of 418 to win a Test, made by West Indies at Antigua against the world champions in 2002-03. No team has bettered England's 231-3 against West Indies last year to win a Test at Old Trafford, though Australia reached 402 in a losing cause in 1981. Australia still need 399 to win the game in a maximum of 98 overs on the final day.

Strauss was one of England's two men of the day, after Simon Jones had taken the last three Australian wickets in the morning session with another magnificent spell of reverse-swing with the old ball. Australia added only 38 runs to their overnight score and were bowled out for 302, conceding a first-innings deficit of 142. Jones' 6-53 were the best figures on this ground against Australia since Jim Laker's 10-53 in 1956.

With Jones polishing off the tail quickly, it gave England's batsmen time to build a lead and push for a declaration later in the day. Alongside Strauss, in a partnership of 127, Ian Bell added another fifty (65) to his first-innings 59. His two fifties meant that all of England's top-order batsmen have now made runs against Australia and can go to Nottingham full of confidence. The one man without a fifty is Geraint Jones, but he played an astonishing cameo of 27 in 12 balls, including two sixes off Glenn McGrath that brought up the declaration total.

But the innings was dominated by Strauss, whose sixth Test century will have given him as much satisfaction as his ton on debut at Lord's against New Zealand last year because it came against Australia. He has repeatedly said all summer that this was the ultimate test of a batsman, and now he has passed it.

It was a beautifully paced knock because he was tied down for long periods by Shane Warne but kept breaking the shackles, driving two fours in the last over before tea and pulling him for six in the evening session. It was also full of character because he had received a bloodied ear from a Brett Lee bouncer into his grille in the second over, but battled on.

England had little option but to play shots against Glenn McGrath because Ricky Ponting hid Jason Gillespie after four overs for 23 runs, and felt unable to bowl Brett Lee for more than 12 overs because he was also expensive. So it came down to a choice between going after Shane Warne, spinning it sharply out of the rough, or McGrath. Most of the time, England settled on McGrath, who went for 115 runs in 20.5 overs.

Although he picked up five wickets, only one was with a genuinely good ball, his inswinger from round the wicket that trapped Kevin Pietersen lbw on the march for a golden duck.

Strauss and Bell had launched their attack from the seventh over after tea having played themselves in carefully, and it turned out to be a shrewd tactic. Had England slogged indiscriminately, they could easily have collapsed against Australia's wily old campaigners. The only frustrating aspect of the innings was Australia's inevitable blatant time-wasting. England would no doubt have done the same but Steve Bucknor's gentle warnings to Warne were not persuasive enough.

In the morning Australia had been coasting until Jones came on to take a wicket in his first over for the third time in the game. It came with a long hop that Shane Warne (90) struck to deep square leg. Brett Lee was worked over before nicking one, then Gillespie (26) trapped with an offcutter with the new ball. Jones will be a factor if England win the match on the fifth day because the ball scuffs easily at Old Trafford and offers him plenty of reverse-swing.

14 Aug, 2005