Graeme Swann starred in the second session for England, confirming his reputation as a fine bowler against left-handers by dismissing both Mike Hussey and Marcus North.
Hussey's dismissal - sharply caught by Paul Collingwood at slip - continued the day's theme of controversial decisions in this compelling Ashes Test.
Replays suggested that the ball had not touched his bat, but instead had diverted dramatically out of a footmark at the same moment that the bat flashed past.
Still, there could be no doubt about North's wicket, as he played outside a quicker ball that rushed between bat and pad and into the stumps.
The other wicket in an excellent session for England was the biggest, and the earliest. It came shortly after lunch, when Ricky Ponting tried to force a ball from Stuart Broad through the off-side.
The ball seamed back slightly and did not bounce as high as expected, with the result that Ponting chopped it onto his leg-stump. He had made 38.
Ponting's dismissal brought in Michael Clarke, who batted with positive intent from the start.
At one point, he took 14 runs off an over from James Anderson, driving with fluency through extra-cover. But then Hussey fell, and North looked out of his depth in the face of another hostile burst from Andrew Flintoff.
Australia reached the tea-break on 178 for five, needing another 344 runs to win. Clarke stood on an impressive 60 not out from just 65 balls.
The concept of playing for the draw is clearly not in his vocabulary.
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