Mitchell Johnson and Ben Hilfenhaus claimed five England wickets for 20 runs in the space of 44 balls in a thrilling final hour of the second day at Headingley, as Australia built on the batting efforts of Marcus North to surge towards a stunningly comprehensive Ashes-squaring victory. North's 110 from 206 balls, coupled with 93 from Michael Clarke and some spirited thwacking from the tail, converted Australia's overnight lead of 94 into a formidable first-innings advantage of 343 which paved the way for the dramas that followed - and had North himself held onto a sharp chance at third slip from the final ball of the day, Ricky Ponting would have had a case to claim the extra half-hour and push for an incredible two-day win
Instead, Australia will have to settle for a three-day finish, in a match that is proving as abjectly one-sided as any of England's Ashes humiliations of the past 20 years. The only remote challenge to Australia's dominance came while Alastair Cook and Andrew Strauss were repelling the new ball in a first-wicket stand of 58 that spanned 22.4 overs. Hilfenhaus, however, zipped one back off the seam to slam into Strauss's back pad to expose England's flimsy middle-order, and sure enough, Australia surged through the opening.
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