Hussain leads England reply after Martyn ton

England, with Nasser Hussain back at the helm, were clinging on in the fourth Ashes Test on Friday after a scintillating century from Damien Martyn on the second day.

England, replying to Australia's first innings of 447, closed on 155 for two, with Hussain on 45 and Mark Butcher on 47 after the pair had put on an unbroken 88 for the third wicket.

England are 292 runs behind Australia and need another 93 to save the follow-on.

Damien Martyn completed his second century of the series before Glenn McGrath removed both England openers shortly after tea, raising the spectre of another home team collapse.

Hussain and Butcher, however, clung on, mixing stubborn defence with the odd flurry of boundaries off the pacemen and Shane Warne's leg spin until play was ended two overs early by bad light.

The Australians, who have already secured the Ashes after winning the first three Tests of the five-match series, had broken through just after tea after Michael Atherton and Marcus Trescothick put on an opening stand of 50.

But Atherton, fencing on the back foot, was then caught behind for 22 off the fourth ball after the restart and Trescothick, on 37, tried to pull a fullish delivery and also departed caught by wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist as McGrath took two wickets for five runs in 13 deliveries.

That brought Hussain, sidelined for most of the summer with a broken thumb and fractured finger.

But he looked in unexpectedly fine form, hooking and pulling powerfully before producing his best shot just before the close, a checked drive off Brett Lee which raced to the cover boundary.

England fans, however, will not sleep too comfortably, having seen the team's middle and lower order collapse in each of their previous innings during the series.

If their batsmen showed real tenacity against pinpoint bowling, the impressive Martyn, in contrast, had thrived on England's wayward seam attack, scoring at almost a run a ball.

Run Feast
After resuming on 288 for four, Australia had piled on 120 in the first session, with Martyn, batting at five, unbeaten on 97 at lunch. Immediately afterwards, he reached three figures with a deft cut off Alan Mullally.

His century was the second of the Australian innings after Ricky Ponting's 144 on Thursday.

The 29-year-old Martyn, exiled from the Test team for six years until last year, was the last man out for 118, caught on the rebound by wicketkeeper Alec Stewart after Atherton parried an edge at first slip. His dismissal, after facing 135 balls and hitting 18 fours during a three-and-a-half-hour stay, gave Darren Gough five wickets for 103.

The right-hander from Western Australia had attacked from the outset, debutant Simon Katich contributing just 15 to their quickfire 67-run partnership in the morning.

Katich, a replacement for the injured Steve Waugh, opened his account with a textbook drive through extra cover off Andrew Caddick but then shouldered arms to a Gough delivery which moved back into the left-hander and clipped the top of the off stump, making it 355 for five.

Martyn, however, who made a century in the first Test and a 50 in the second, timed the ball to perfection and was particularly brutal off the back foot.

Gough helped England wrap up the Australian tail with the minimum of fuss for once, as the last five wickets fell for 51 either side of lunch, including that of the dangerous Gilchrist.

Detailed Scorecard

Also read:
Day 1: Ponting canes hapless England in fourth Test

Mail Cricket Editor