The Ashes: England crumble towards defeat

Hussey's second century of the winter helped Australia to 309 all out in their second innings and into pole position for a series-levelling victory in this fluctuating third Test at the WACA.

Yet to fall for under 50 in five attempts in this campaign, the left-hander finished with 116 on his home ground - leaving England to make 391 in almost seven sessions to retain the urn with two matches still to play.

But any hope England had of a victory that would retain the urn appears to be gone after they slumped to 81 for five.

Chris Tremlett (five for 87) took two of four wickets for the addition of only 32 runs in late afternoon, after Australia had appeared set to bat on for the remainder of the day and set a record-breaking fourth-innings target when Hussey and Shane Watson (95) were going well.

A breakthrough was needed increasingly urgently by the time Tremlett supplied it.

Watson missed out on a hundred yet again, the 14th time he has passed a Test 50 and then failed to convert it to three figures.

He left with a withering look for umpire Marais Erasmus too. But after taking the lbw verdict to DRS, the accepted proof was there that there was no inside edge and Watson was struck in front.

Within minutes, Australia were on the right side of a review when new batsman Steven Smith was given out by Billy Doctrove.

Whether the decision was for lbw or caught at first slip was not clear, but it was soon evident that Smith was staying put in either case with no inside edge present and the ball going over the top.

Hussey had a significant scare on 60 from the last ball before lunch, having to go to DRS to show the ball hitting him too high and therefore overturning Erasmus' decision that he was lbw to Tremlett.

Smith won another marginal lbw rethink from the third umpire, on 28, leaving Anderson still stuck on 199.

But Tremlett's short, legside line of attack from round the wicket ended a stand of 75 when Smith fended one behind to Matt Prior.

Tremlett's awkward length confused Brad Haddin, who deflected the ball down on to his stumps; then, either side of Hussey's hundred, Johnson and Ryan Harris came and went for just a single each.

Paul Collingwood replaced an out-of-sorts Graeme Swann and had Johnson poking a catch to cover, and Harris continued his miserable run of scores when he pulled Steven Finn (three for 97) into the hands of deep midwicket.

The deserving Tremlett then returned with the second new ball to take his eighth wicket of the match and finish the innings, Hussey caught in the legside deep after James Anderson had become the 13th Englishman to reach 200 Test wickets when Peter Siddle edged to slip.

The tourists began their pursuit of 391 for victory knowing a good start was crucial.

Andrew Strauss and Alastair Cook had put on 78 in the first innings, only for England to falter alarmingly with the bat.

This time, they managed only 23 before Cook was lbw on the back foot to Harris immediately after the fast bowler had made an early switch to the Lillee-Marsh Stand End.

Then Johnson took his seventh wicket of the match, finding Strauss' edge for a routine catch at second slip by Ricky Ponting.

It got worse still for England in the final hour, when Kevin Pietersen followed up his first-innings duck by becoming Ben Hilfenhaus' 50th Test victim when he edged to Watson at first slip for three. It was Hilfenhaus' first success since the third ball of the series - a wait of over 78 overs.

Jonathan Trott (31) soon followed Pietersen back to the pavilion, his edge off Johnson bouncing up off Ponting's fingers and providing wicketkeeper Haddin with a straightforward catch.

That left England on 81 for four and Australia heaped further misery on the tourists before the close by snaring the dogged Collingwood, caught by Smith at third slip for 11 off the bowling of Harris.

English hopes now rest with Ian Bell, Matt Prior and the tail.