KEY POINTS:
Glenn McGrath produced the perfect going-away present with two wickets in four balls to put Australia back on track for a rare Ashes series clean sweep over England in the final test in Sydney yesterday.
The prolific paceman, playing his 124th and final test, struck late on the
opening day to remove Kevin Pietersen and Ian Bell and reel in England after the pair had lifted the tourists' spirits in a 108-run stand.
McGrath, 36, came yet again to Australia's aid with 2-12 in a six-over spell to have England under pressure after winning the toss.
England are trailing 4-0 in the series and facing the prospect of the first Ashes whitewash in 86 years.
At stumps, England were 234 for four, with skipper Andrew Flintoff clouting a six off Stuart Clark to be unconquered on 42 and Paul Collingwood not out 25.
Much depends on the last pair of recognised batsmen if England are to build a solid first innings total.
Ricky Ponting's team has the chance to inflict the ignominy of a 5-0 Ashes series clean sweep, last achieved by Warwick Armstrong's 1920-21 Australians at home.
McGrath claimed his 900th combined test and one-day wicket when he coaxed Pietersen into top-edging a pull shot to Mike Hussey, who took a sprawling catch at mid-wicket to send him on his way for 41.
Pietersen, England's leading scorer in the series, with 461 runs at 57.62, employed a risky pre-meditated attack of walking down the wicket to unsettle the Australian bowlers, but in the end he perished as McGrath out-foxed him with a shorter-pitched delivery.
Bell followed four balls later, in McGrath's next over, when he speared one between bat and pad to take Bell's off and middle stumps for 71, compiled in 194 minutes off 153 balls.
It was Bell's fourth half-century of the series. Earlier, Andrew Strauss failed again and was out in the 15th over after being dropped two overs earlier.
Vice-captain Strauss, who has scored only one half-century in nine innings in the series, needlessly chased a ball outside his off-stump and was caught behind by Adam Gilchrist for 29.
Strauss has scored 223 runs in an unproductive series, at 24.77.
Cook fell in the third over after lunch, caught behind off an inside-edge for 20 to give Clark his 22nd wicket of the series.
Justin Langer had a deflating start to his 105th and last test match when he put down Strauss on 21.
McGrath coaxed an edge, which flew low to third slip, but Langer could not hold onto the two-handed chance.
Australia is saying farewell to test greats McGrath, Langer and Shane Warne, who have played a combined 374 tests and have all announced their test retirements.
McGrath and Warne have 1263 test wickets between them and have been the scourge of English batsmen while Langer forms part of Australia's most prolific opening pair with Matthew Hayden.
- AFP
