England won by an innings and 157 runs to retain Ashes

England won by an innings and 157 runs in the fourth test on Wednesday to retain the Ashes on Australian soil for the 1st time in 24 years.

The victory, sealed before lunch on the 4th day, gave holders England a 2-1 lead in the Ashes series, which will be completed with the 5th and final test in Sydney next week.

The England players embraced and pumped their fists in the air upon the final wicket as deafening cheers rang out from England's "Barmy Army" of supporters who had sung happily throughout the morning at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

Australia had resumed on 169-6, still facing a 246-run shortfall to make England bat again but lost their remaining wickets soon before lunch to be all out for 258.

Chris Tremlett removed Mitchell Johnson for six in the 2nd over of the morning, the Australian Faster pushing half-heartedly at a fuller delivery that took an inside edge before crashing into off-stump.

Peter Siddle defiantly slogged his way to 40 before belting a lofted drive off Graeme Swann straight to Kevin Pietersen at long on.

The injured Ryan Harris did not take his place leaving Ben Hilfenhaus to take the crease. The paceman was out to Tim Bresnan for a fourth-ball duck, caught behind to wicketkeeper Matt Prior to complete the innings.

Brad Haddin enjoyed a blustering partnership with Siddle, striking four boundaries and a six off Graeme Swann, but was left stranded on 55 not out.

Warne never in the mix for Perth Test: Chappell

Former Australian skipper and current national team selector Greg Chappell has sought to put the lid on Shane Warne's comeback rumors by stating the famous leg-spinner was never in conflict for the Perth Test starting on December 16.

There have been strong calls for Warne's comeback since Australia was whipping by an innings and 71 at Adelaide to go 0-1 down in the five-Test Ashes series against England. In fact, a group of businessmen have offered Warne $ 1 million to come out of retirement and save Australia in the remainder of the series.

Chappell said he was smiling by the sudden hype surrounding Warne, especially considering, the latter has only played Twenty20 cricket since his retirement four years back. "Warne's been a great bowler but he's 41 years of age, or near enough to 41," Chappell was quoted by the Telegraph as telling his brother Ian in an interview for the Sunday Herald.

Australia has tried out nine spinners since Warne's retirement, and the latest incumbent in that role, Xavier Doherty has been axed from the Ashes squad after a disappointing performance in Adelaide. Australian selectors have now turned to rookie Michael Beer to fill in the spinner's position for the Perth Test.

Chappell also said he wasn't sure if Warne's comeback was the way to take Australian cricket forward. "I'm sure he could still land a few but I don't know that that's going to take Australian cricket forward. We haven't really given a lot of thought about it other than that," Chappell added.

No thought of quitting despite Ashes pains: Ricky Ponting

Ricky Ponting may be just one Test defeat away from becoming the 1st Australian skipper in 120 years to lose three Ashes series but he is not entertaining any retirement thoughts.

Ricky Ponting, who turns 36 on December 19, has not been at the top of his form with the bat while his team trail England 1-0 in the five-match series with 3 Tests remaining.

"My absolute focus is on all the things within my control, preparing the team and myself to perform at our very best in Perth, Melbourne and then Sydney over the next three tests," Ponting wrote in the Australian newspaper on Saturday.

"I have not stopped for one moment to consider retirement. The question of my future as skipper is ultimately a decision for Cricket Australia and categorically the future of Australian cricket must come first."

"I have every confidence in my ability to score runs and be the experienced batsman and leader that my teammates can rely on."

"As captain, I am accountable for the performance of my team and I accept that our most recent results mean that I am being assessed more seriously than at other times in my career as skipper."

"The team is my priority, not my own ego or the status that comes with being the captain of the Australian cricket team."

Ponting accepted England had dominated the series so far.

"We've been ordinary, we've played poorly. I haven't played the way I would like to have played, especially in Adelaide, but I don't think I'm that far away."

"I've got to keep trusting the way I prepare and play and keep working hard. If anything I might have worked a bit too hard on my batting over the last couple of weeks."

England crush Australia by an innings and 71 runs

Australia suffered a massive blow with the loss of key batsman Michael Clarke in the final over Monday to leave them facing an uphill battle to salvage the second Ashes Test against England.

Clarke looked set to go to stumps leading a fighting rearguard action at the Adelaide Oval only to fall to a catch close to the wicket off part-time spinner Kevin Pietersen, with only four balls left of the fourth day.

Clarke had appeared to have recaptured his best form after cheap dismissals in Brisbane and the Adelaide first innings before he was out for 80.

At stumps Australia, chasing 375 runs to make England bat again, were 238 for four with Mike Hussey the not out batsman on 44.

Clarke was initially given not out and refused to walk off until England called for a referral and replays showed that the ball had come off his bat to Alastair Cook fielding close in.

"Just want to apologise for not walking off the ground tonight when I hit the ball. I was just so disappointed, my emotions got best of me," Clarke said via Twitter after play.

England spinner Graeme Swann, who looms as his team's major weapon on Tuesday's final day, said it was a significant wicket for the tourists.

"It's a massive bonus for us. It was tough going for us in the last session, their two best players against spin at crease, both playing well," he said.

"Sometimes you need a bit of inspiration and who else but Pietersen to come on and give you it."

Hussey said it was a "kick in the guts" to lose Clarke. England amassed their fifth highest innings in Ashes Tests and their second best in Australia, only surpassed by a 636 scored in Sydney in 1928.

Captain Strauss finally called a halt to the run onslaught at 620 for five with Ian Bell unbeaten on 68 and wicketkeeper Matt Prior not out 27.

The tourists lost only the wicket of Pietersen for his Test best score of 227 in the 40 minutes of free scoring, in which they added 69 off nine overs.

Pietersen smashed beleaguered spinner Xavier Doherty's first ball of the day through midwicket for four but went for a lusty swing at the next ball which turned sharply out of the rough to Katich at slip.

Pietersen amassed his haul off 308 balls with 34 fours and a six and he shared in a 116-run partnership with Bell in 125 minutes.

His previous best Test score was 226 against the West Indies in May 2007.

On Sunday Pietersen became only the fifth Englishman to score a double century in Australia with his first century in 28 Test innings since his 102 against the West Indies at Port-of-Spain in March last year.

Dominant England have amassed 1,137 runs runs for six wickets in their last two innings in this series.

England paceman Stuart Broad strained stomach muscles during his second bowling spell but returned to the field after the rain break. "We?re going to have to keep fighting hard and I thought we fought pretty hard today. It was a bit of a kick in the guts to lose that one in the last over."

Clarke, the Australian vice-captain, went to the crease under pressure following scores of nine and two and his team needing him to produce a long match-saving innings against dominant England, who are chasing their first win in Adelaide since 1995.

Rain might yet assist Australia's rearguard after a storm suspended play for an hour after tea and with more bad weather forecast for Tuesday's final day.

Top-rated spinner Swann proved the major threat with his sharp turn out of the footmarks and he captured the key wickets of Simon Katich and Ricky Ponting.

Katich's painful resistance ended in the 30th over, when he pushed forward to Swann and got a touch for wicketkeeper Matt Prior.

The stoic left-hander battled a painful Achilles injury and hobbled for his 43 off 85 balls to help build an opening stand of 84.

Katich later went to hospital to have scans of his injury with the results expected on Tuesday.

Swann got Ponting's prized wicket when the Aussie skipper came forward and edged to slip, where Paul Collingwood snapped up a great low two-handed catch.

It was a huge setback for the Australians, with Ponting lasting only 21 minutes for his nine when occupation was more important than runs.

Opener Shane Watson again failed to go on after a good start when he nicked Steven Finn to Andrew Strauss at first slip for 57.

Doherty will best Pietersen: Ricky Ponting

Australia skipper Ricky Ponting on Monday backed uncapped Xavier Doherty to best England batsman Kevin Pietersen during the Ashes series 2010/11, saying the spinner was ready for the tourists' top order.

Xavier Doherty was included in Australia's Ashes team over Nathan Hauritz - a decision retired spin legend Shane Warne slammed on micro blogging site Twitter as "very very harsh on Hauritz" who he said "deserved first break at poms".

But Ricky Ponting said left-arm orthodox spinner Doherty, 28, had been impressive in recent Sheffield Shield domestic matches for Tasmania while Nathan Hauritz had "lost his action".

"Seeing him up close and personal for those couple of games probably gave me a bit more of an idea of how good he was because I haven't played much with him in the last few years," Ponting said.

"He's a good solid character as well and I think he'll handle the situation pretty well and I think we saw that in his 1st ODI Cricket Match at the MCG."

Doherty took four wickets on his ODI debut against Sri Lanka at the MCG on November 3.

"I think he'll be ready for what the English batters try and do," Ponting said.

Pietersen has a patchy record against left-arm orthodox bowlers and was dismissed by Australia A spinner Steve O'Keefe, also a left-arm orthodox, during a tour match in Hobart last week.

Steve Waugh warned to out-of-form Australia

Former Test skipper Steve Waugh Friday warned Australia's under-performing senior players they might not count on experience alone to keep their places in the Ashes team to play England next month.

Ricky Ponting's Australians are emotions the heat after a 2-0 series defeat in India this month left them languishing at 5th on the ICC world rankings, below 4th-listed England and on their worst losing streak for more than 20 years.

Waugh, who led Australia to 41 Test victories - including eight out of nine Ashes Tests -- said inexperience should not rule out players when the team is selected for the November 25 1st Test at Brisbane's Gabba ground.

"I don't see why not," the hard-bitten warrior of 168 Test matches told reporters. "Just because it's an Ashes series it doesn't make it any different from any other series.

"You've got to put your best 11 players on the park irrespective of age or experience."

"I'm never a big believer of picking players by age, it's more the passion, your form and whether you're the right person for the job," he said.

Australia's bowlers failed to take all 20 wickets in either Test against India but Waugh said he had no concerns about the pace bowling depth as the team returns to home pitches.

Waugh said under- pressure captain Ponting may be able to turn the censure he has received to his advantage this summer as he bids to reclaim the Ashes urn lost last year in England.

"With criticism, you've just got to look at it and see whether you can get something constructive from those comments," he said.

"If you can learn by it that's a positive, if you think it was unjustified then move on.

"You can't please everyone as captain. It's about having the respect of the team.

"That's your number one priority, if he's got that then I don't think he should worry too much."

Waugh believes Australia will win a tightly-contested Ashes series 3-2 due to superior knowledge of the home conditions.

Pietersen can recover his form if he clears his mind: Tendulkar

England batsman Kevin Pietersen can recover his form if he "clears his mind" before the Ashes series against an Australian side who is no longer the team to beat in Test cricket, feels India's batting genius Sachin Tendulkar.

"If Kevin Pietersen is thinking right it will replicate in his game and the runs will come. All I would say to him is just be relaxed, be calm and watch the ball as closely as possible because that is what a batsman is meant to do," Tendulkar told the “Evening Standard”.

Tendulkar spoke after receiving the "People's Choice Award and the Outstanding Achievement in Sport Award," at the Asian Awards at Grosvenor House last night.

"If Kevin clears his mind and perceives that Australia is no longer the team to beat, he will regain his form. The thought process has to be free flowing and that's when you react and your body movement is not stiff and tight. If he can clear his mind I am sure his game will improve."

The iconic batsman gave Australia a hot time a fortnight ago with his mammoth first-innings score of 214, helping India to a comfortable win over the visitors in Bangalore.

In stark contrast to Tendulkar's dominance, Pietersen has been struggling, with the last of his 16 Test centuries coming way back in March 2009.