Australia 268 & 309 beat England 187 & 123 by 267 runs
ENGLAND lost their last five wickets within an hour on the fourth day of the third Test as Australia romped to a series-levelling victory.
The match had already been lost yesterday but this morning represented the tourists' last chance to salvage any pride from Perth.
Instead, they only served up a pathetic surrender, losing their remaining quintet of batsmen for just 42 runs in 50 minutes.
England resumed in wretched shape on 81-5 with a 309-run deficit, but there was hope that Ian Bell and Matt Prior may add some respectability to the scorecard.
That hope was ultimately misplaced but only after nightwatchman James Anderson was first to be out on three, having his stumps splattered by the excellent Ryan Harris.
Harris ended up taking his Test-best figures of 6-47 and brought the downfall of Bell by trapping him plumb lbw on 16 with England on 111-7, an apt score for the superstitious among us.
Harris then removed England's last recognised batsmen in Prior for 10 but he was aided by a fine slip-catch by Mike Hussey and a terrible shot selection by the Sussex man.
The hero of the second day and man of the match, Mitchell Johnson, was next to strike as Graeme Swann got a horrid inside edge to be bowled on nine.
And finally Finn was caught by Steve Smith off Harris again for two, the wicket at least preventing a prolongation of the agony.
Australia have been excellent - and with Johnson (9-82) and Harris (9-106) taking 18 of the 20 wickets between them, the hosts seem to have found their best bowling attack.
By contrast - from the moment they let Australia wriggle off the hook on 69-5 - England have been atrocious in this Test.
Even when Andrew Strauss and Alastair Cook gave them a decent start, the batsmen could still only muster 187 to concede an 81-run innings deficit.
Only Bell, who hit a defiant 61 in trying circumstances with the tail, could be excused as Johnson ripped through the batting order to take 6-38.
The swing which Johnson had magnificently generated left optimistic England fans hoping Anderson could drag the tourists back into the game by producing a similar spell.
But it never happened, nor did it ever look like happening.
Whether it was his 20,000-mile round-trip to Britain for the birth of his child, or - probably more fundamentally - the decision by England to use just three seamers, Anderson toiled.
He was not the only one. While young Finn continued to take wickets, he also went at more than four-and-a-half runs per over as Australia built their lead.
Just as Bell had been the exception in the batting, Chris Tremlett is one of the few players in the England line-up to emerge with credit, taking a five-for in his first Test match for three years.
However, by the end of day three, Tremlett's efforts counted for nought as England collapsed hopelessly to 81-5 and outlandish hopes of an extraordinary win were crushed.
On day four, England surrendered swiftly, making a mockery of their reputation for being stubborn, built on the back of Test-saving antics in the 2009 Ashes first Test, the subsequent tour of South Africa and in this series in Brisbane.
It should also be remembered, though, that Strauss' men are an inconsistent side, capable of going from the sublime to the ridiculous.
That 2009 Ashes victory included a horrific innings defeat in the fourth Test and a heavy beating in the One Day series while the South Africa tour also included a bad innings defeat.
England's valiant recoveries from such setbacks have earned them deserved praise in recent times but this will really hurt, simply because it was so unexpected.
And so, where do the tourists go from here?
Well, apart from the obvious answer - Melbourne, the management team will surely have a frank debate over how best to use the bowlers.
Bell is also likely to be moved up the order at the expense of Collingwood to prevent England's best stroke-maker from being saddled with the tail.
Whether Bell's promotion over Collingwood coincides with a personnel change to bring in an extra bowler remains to be seen but, whichever eleven players line up at the MCG, the England team and its supporters must not lose heart.
England, as a unit, should not be judged decisively on this performance, just as fans - including yours truly - should not get carried away, as I did, by big wins like the one in Adelaide.
Basically, the series is tied at 1-1 with two matches to play. Victory in either Test would retain the Ashes, bringing them back from Australia for the first time since 1986-87.
And, despite the performance in this match, that objective remains realistic but it would help if England regain the momentum early on Boxing Day in Melbourne.
That is easier said than done in front of almost 100,000 baying Aussies and it seems more likely that this series is being set up for a cracking finale in Sydney.
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EARLIER REPORTS
Day three: Hussey crushes England as Aussies scent victory
Australia 268 [Johnson 62, Hussey 61, Haddin 53] & 309 [Hussey 116, Watson 92; Tremlett 5-87] v England 187 [Bell 53, Strauss 52; Johnson 6-38] & 81-5
MIKE HUSSEY became the first man to score six successive Ashes half-centuries as Australia crushed England on the third day of the third Test at the Waca in Perth.
Hussey hit 116 to make his second century of the series, putting Australia into a huge lead of 309 runs and on the edge of a series-levelling victory.
England have only successfully chased targets of more than 300 on three occasions in history and they will not going to improve on that statistic in this match, falling to 81-5 at the close.
Earlier, Australia resumed on 119-3, already a lead of 200 runs, and the hosts continued to dominate in the opening session.
In that session, the Aussies added 92 runs for the loss of just one wicket. It was opener Shane Watson who fell, having made 95 - the 14th time out of 16 he has made a half-century without going on to make a ton.
And perhaps it is his frustration at this poor conversion rate which explains why he petulantly refused to leave the pitch for a while, even after being given out by the video referral he had requested.
However, on two other occasions in the session, the Aussies used the review system to better effect, overturning poor umpiring decisions to give Steve Smith and Hussey out.
Smith is a skittish player in contrast to Hussey's obdurate calm, and the former only just survived a confident lbw appeal from James Anderson after lunch.
But, while Hussey approached his century, Smith added 36 from 62 balls before giving Watson a lesson in etiquette by walking after nicking Chris Tremlett behind to Matt Prior.
Hussey was then joined at the crease by his favoured batting partner Brad Haddin but the wicket-keeper did not last long this time, making just seven before an inside edge carried a Tremlett delivery onto the stumps.
And Western Australian Hussey continued to lose partners on a regular basis for the rest of the innings.
Mitchell Johnson was next to go for just one run, having been caught at extra cover by Ian Bell off Paul Collingwood's part-time spin.
Then Ryan Harris continued his woeful form with the bat. He also departed for a solitary run - again caught by Bell, this time off the bowling of Steven Finn - meaning he has scored 0, 0, 3 and 1 in his last four innings.
It is a small wonder how Harris bats ahead of Peter Siddle who contributed 35 not out in the first innings and another eight runs in this effort.
Anderson was the man to take the scalp of Siddle, aided by Collingwood in the slips for his 200th Test wicket.
But, sadly, the landmark will be tarnished by one of England's worst all-round performances in recent years.
That same sentiment applies to Tremlett who took his first Test five-for by eventually removing Hussey after the Western Australian attempted a slog to deep square leg.
By then, of course, Australia looked to have done enough, barring an extraordinary effort by England and yet there were still some who thought that the tourists might yet pull this off.
The dreamers pointed towards recent high fourth-innings scores in Perth and noted England's determination in securing draws at Cardiff in 2009 and twice in South Africa.
The realists realised that, given England's first innings performance, knocking off the runs to win this time would easily rank above those escapes and so it is even more unlikely.
England's top-order, which had looked so secure in Brisbane and Adelaide, proved the realists right - and the rest of the final session was punctuated by the clatter of wickets.
Cook was first to fall, lbw to Harris on 13, oddly opting not to review the decision even though the ball looked a bit high.
Strauss followed three overs later for 15, edging Johnson to Ponting at slip to leave England on 37-2.
Jonathan Trott and Kevin Pietersen then attempted to bring some stability to the innings but a succession of maidens built pressure and Pietersen's patience snapped.
A poor shot from Pietersen edged to Watson at first slip and KP was gone for just three runs off 23 balls.
At least Ben Hilfenhaus will be pleased - Pietersen's folly gave him his first wicket since Strauss wafted at the third ball of the series in Brisbane.
Worse was to follow for England just before the close. First, Trott edged Johnson to Ricky Ponting for 31 - and, as if the prove the momentum has indeed swung behind the Aussies, Ponting fumbled his catch but Haddin snatched the rebound.
Then, to the last ball of the day, Collingwood nicked Harris to Smith at slip for 11, leaving England with the proverbial mountain to climb, still 228 behind on 81-5.
It seems to me that the tourists are still shell-shocked at the speed of the turnaround in events.
Having dominated the final two days of the first Test in Brisbane, and enjoyed a thumping win in Adelaide, England won the toss here and had the Aussies in all sorts of trouble at 69-5.
But a failure to finish the hosts off has cost England dear and Strauss' men then compounded that error by collapsing twice in the first innings to end up 187 all out.
Of course, Johnson got the ball to swing and bowled an incredible spell but England's last hope rested on Anderson responding in kind.
Unfortunately, the Burnley Express could not deliver and questions are now sure to be raised about his decision to make two 24-hour trips to England and back to see the birth of his daughter.
However, a more pertinent point lies in England's decision to use just four front-line bowlers, a tactic which has particularly exhausted the fast bowlers.
Tremlett, to his credit, has done extremely well as a replacement for the injured Stuart Broad but it has become evident that the latter's absence is a major blow.
With Broad out, the tourists were understandably wary about weakening their batting line-up further but more faith should have been invested in an in-form top-order.
The top-order is no longer in form and England will leave Perth, not only defeated, but also in a right quandary.
It looks at this stage as if England should field an extra bowler. It would ease the workload on the likes of Anderson and Finn, and increase England's chances of finishing off the Aussies properly if they collapse to 69-5 again.
But the management team favours stability and an additional bowler will increase the length of the tail, further weakening the batting line-up after its worst performance of the tour so far.
Regardless, the very fact that there is any debate is evidence of a big momentum shift - Australia are cock-a-hoop and England are under pressure.
Day two: Australia roar back into Ashes contention
(Close): Australia 268 [Johnson 62, Hussey 61, Haddin 53] & 119-3 [Watson 61*] v England 187 [Bell 53, Strauss 52; Johnson 6-38]
MITCHELL JOHNSON produced a spell of Ashes magic as Australia roared back into contention on the second day of the third Test in Perth.
Johnson swung the ball magnificent to take 6-38 as England collapsed from 78-0 to 98-5 and eventually 187 all out, a significant first innings deficit of 81 runs.
Opener Shane Watson then hit an unbeaten 61 to guide Australia to 119-3 at the close, already a lead of exactly 200 runs.
But, undoubtedly, the day belonged to the oft-maligned and undeniably mercurial Johnson.
Dropped after a nightmare first Test of this series in which he failed to take a wicket or score any runs as well as dropping an easy catch, Johnson is perhaps fortunate that Australia played even worse in the second Test to lose by an innings.
However, he repaid the faith of the selectors who recalled him with figures at one stage on day two of 4-7 off 23 balls in a remarkable spell.
England resumed on 29-0 and reached the relative comfort of 78-0 having survived the first hour with just one scare.
The scare came early in the day when a chance offered by captain Andrew Strauss off Ryan Harris dissected wicket-keeper Brad Haddin and Watson in the slips.
But that was nothing as compared to the ferocious swing with which Johnson bowled when he was belatedly brought on by Aussie skipper Ricky Ponting.
Alastair Cook fell in Johnson's first over for 32, driving outside of off-stump but ending up floating a catch to Mike Hussey.
And Johnson then got two wickets in his next over as both Jonathan Trott and Kevin Pietersen were victims of lbw to a swinging ball, falling for four runs and a duck respectively.
When, shortly afterwards, Johnson claimed a third lbw scalp in Paul Collingwood, courtesy of excellent use of the video referral system, England were struggling at 98-5.
That is because Strauss had departed just one over earlier on 53, having nicked a seemingly innocuous Harris delivery behind to Haddin.
With Stuart Broad out injured, England's tail had lengthened and the tourists' last hope of restoring parity to the first innings scores lay with Ian Bell and Matt Prior.
In fairness to the pair, they took England well beyond lunch and, with Bell dominating the strike, they looked to be edging Strauss' men back into the contest.
But then Siddle struck to bowl Prior for 12 and, in doing so, he took his first wicket in this series since first day of the first Test in Brisbane where he enjoyed his 26th birthday with a hat-trick.
Bell continued gamely to stave off the inevitable by protecting new man Graeme Swann from being on strike against Johnson as the Aussies looked to excavate the tail.
Instead, it was Harris who was next to cause havoc, inducing Swann to nick one behind to Haddin for 11 shortly before Bell edged an away-swinger to second slip for England's top individual score of 53.
Bell's departure left England on 186-8 with James Anderson and Chris Tremlett at the crease, and Steven Finn still to bat.
It came as no surprise then that only one run was added for the last two wickets - indeed only six runs had been added for the final four.
Johnson feasted himself on the carcass of the England innings, bowling Tremlett for two and removing Anderson for a duck after he had edged to Watson at first slip.
The conclusion of England's innings resulted in an early tea with the bowlers well aware that the onus now rested on them to take quick wickets to force a similar Aussie collapse.
Finn began his task none too badly, delivering a good length ball to Philip Hughes who found Collingwood at third slip for just 12 to leave Australia on 31-1.
Shortly afterwards, Ponting had also failed for a second time, out for just one run when video evidence showed the skipper had grazed a glove behind to Prior off Finn.
Ponting was furious with the decision but should concede that it was given by the third umpire with the benefit of hot-spot and other video footage.
The trio of disappointing Australian batsmen was complete when Tremlett bowled Michael Clarke for a below-par score of 20.
With the loss of Clarke, Australia were 64-3 and England were just about keeping themselves in the match.
In the last hour, though, it got away from the tourists again as Watson - who had survived a couple of early scares - and the indefatigable Hussey scored 55 runs without being parted.
England had started this match so well, winning the toss and reducing the Aussies to 69-5 as they looked for a victory which would retain the Ashes by Christmas.
But, now, the tourists would do well to avoid losing this match. With three days of the match left, there is plenty of time for Australia to increase their lead further and for an on-song bowling attack to dismiss England again.
England's only hope rests with the Perth pitch which has unusually become flatter throughout the course of recent Test matches.
Two years ago, South Africa successfully chased down 414 at the Waca to win by six wickets. It looks at this stage that England may have to match that feat.
Day one: England pick up from where they left off in Adelaide
(Close): Australia 268 [Johnson 62, Hussey 61, Haddin 53] v England 29-0
CHRIS TREMLETT took three wickets in his first Test innings for three years as England continued their excellent form on the first day of the third Ashes Test in Perth.
Tremlett, who replaced the injured Stuart Broad, finished with 3-63 as Australia were bowled out for 268 - having been 69-5 at one stage.
England captain Andrew Strauss won the toss and took a calculated risk by putting the hosts in on a grassy wicket in Western Australia.
It paid off as Australia's top order batsmen, totally shorn of confidence after the defeat in the second Test in Adelaide, failed again.
Philip Hughes' first appearance in this series for the Aussies proved to be a brief one.
Hughes, the replacement for injured opener Simon Katich, made just two before being clean-bowled by Tremlett.
England's reserve had got the better of Australia's substitute in his first over. It was as if nothing had changed from 10 days ago in Adelaide.
Not wanting to be outshone, James Anderson struck next, extending Aussie skipper Ricky Ponting's barren run by removing him for just 12.
However, most of the credit will rightly go to Paul Collingwood for his sensational one-handed catch at second slip - a perfect demonstration of England's top class fielding.
Ponting may reflect that he was the victim of an audacious slip catch but perhaps the worst thing that can be said about his vice-captain Michael Clarke was that his wicket was no surprise.
Clarke is dreadfully out-of-form and he was dismissed here for just four after a tentative prod to Tremlett was edged behind to wicket-keeper Matt Prior.
Shortly afterwards, with just over an hour of play gone, Australia were close to tatters at 36-4.
Opener Shane Watson was trapped plumb lbw by Steven Finn and wasted a review more in hope than expectation. His request was typical of the Aussies' increasing desperation.
But, by then, local man Mike Hussey was at the crease and, after Watson's wicket, he calmed the situation down somewhat to build a slow partnership with another new selection, Steve Smith.
The pair reached lunch without further loss at 65-4 but then Smith put the hosts back under immense pressure straight after the interval, edging a wide Tremlett delivery to Strauss in the slips.
However, Hussey remained unmoved, and he was joined in the middle by Brad Haddin with whom he had shared a massive 307-run partnership in the first Test in Brisbane. How long ago that feels now!
Hussey and Haddin constructed another decent partnership here, considering the circumstances, adding 68 runs for the sixth wicket.
But, while both men played themselves in, neither progressed to a particularly big score.
Hussey was out for 61 midway through the afternoon session as Swann picked up his first wicket of this Test courtesy of a huge edge to Prior and the decision referral system which showed it.
Haddin lasted beyond tea but was out for 53 when a mis-timed drive off Anderson flew to Swann who took a good catch above his head at second slip.
At this stage, Australia were on 189-7 with just the tail remaining, and the chance of a score significantly greater than 200 looked over.
But Mitchell Johnson, recalled to the team after his first Test nightmare, repaid some of his dues by batting with the tail to top-score in the innings with 62.
The same could not be said of Ryan Harris who last week became only the second ever Australian to be out first ball in both of his innings.
Harris lasted a little longer this time but he was still out for a measly three runs off just five balls when Anderson bowled him off his pads to pick up his third wicket.
Peter Siddle, who finished 35 not out, put up more resistance with Johnson until the latter tried one too many ultra-attacking shots, pulling a Finn ball to Anderson at square-leg.
And then Siddle added 35 for the last wicket with Ben Hilfenhaus to haul the hosts beyond 250 and keep them still with a chance of winning this match.
For the first time in this series, the Aussie tail wagged but concerns remain stark for the under-pressure Ponting who has now had his future publicly questioned by his predecessor Steve Waugh.
Ponting's top-order, of which he is a member, were out-thought by England again while his bowlers failed to threaten as Strauss and Alastair Cook safely negotiated the remaining 12 overs.
The bowlers may have added respectability to the Aussie score but if they cannot make inroads into England's batting line-up then those efforts will have been for nought.
Meanwhile, England can take pleasure from the fact that day one belonged to them again - the only disappointment being that the Aussies had not been bowled out even more cheaply after such a strong start.
However, Strauss and his men know that a good batting performance throughout day two and into day three would put them on the edge of retaining the Ashes.
England's fate is very much in their own hands.
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