Jonathan Trott stretches England lead in Melbourne
Fourth Ashes Test: Australia 98 v England 444-5 (stumps, day two)
Venue: Melbourne Dates: 26-30 December Start time: 2330 GMT each day
Jonathan Trott scored his fifth Test hundred as England took total control of the fourth Ashes Test in Melbourne.
Trott remained unbeaten on 141 as the tourists finished on 444-5, a lead of 346 as Australia endured another frustrating day in the field.
After resuming on 157-0, England were restricted to 286-5 before Trott and Matt Prior (75 not out) took control.
The day was marred by controversy when Ricky Ponting remonstrated with the umpires following a review decision.
The Australia captain is almost certain to face disciplinary repercussions from International Cricket Council match referee Ranjan Madugalle following the incident just after lunch when Kevin Pietersen was given not out by umpire Aleem Dar following a vociferous caught behind appeal off Ryan Harris.
Urged on by wicketkeeper Brad Haddin, Ponting asked for a referral - only for third umpire Marais Erasmus to uphold Dar's original decision when replays and Hotspot indicated there had been no contact with the inside edge of Pietersen's bat on the way through to Haddin's gloves.
But Ponting refused to accept the decision, continuing his protestations to umpire Dar and his square leg colleague Tony Hill, much to the chagrin of the 67,149 people in the crowd at the MCG.
 Ponting's protestations are likely to be punished by the ICC |
The incident compounded yet another frustrating day for the Australia, desperate to erase their feeble display on day one after being comprehensively outplayed by the tourists.
The day began optimistically for the hosts as Peter Siddle, bowling with real pace and purpose, found the perfect line outside off stump to snare an edge off Alastair Cook to first slip in the fifth over of the morning.
The Essex opener fell 18 runs short of what would have been his third hundred of the series and he was soon followed by captain Andrew Strauss.
The left-hander was surprised by a delivery which spit sharply off the surface from a length, gleaning a thick leading edge towards gully, where Mike Hussey took an excellent one-handed catch at full stretch to leave England at 170-2.
Alongside Trott, new-man Pietersen played with circumspect as Australia tested the third-wicket pair in a testing spell of fast bowling, while the latter greeted spinner Steven Smith's arrival into the attack with two boundaries in his first over before guiding England to 226-2 at lunch.
Pietersen in particular looked in excellent touch, unfurling a number of consummate straight drives down the ground as Australia counted down the overs until the new ball was available.
But, soon after Ponting's referral histrionics, Pietersen perished after notching his 21st Test half century when he was adjudged lbw shuffling across his crease to Siddle, who collected his third wicket with his third delivery of the afternoon session with England at 262-3.
And momentum shifted in Australia's favour when Mitchell Johnson utilised the short ball to effect as he snared Paul Collingwood and Ian Bell for single-figure scores with almost identical dismissals.
Both batsmen fell for the bouncer sucker-punch, top-edging miscontrolled pulls to fine leg where Siddle took two good catches to leave England at 286-5.
 Prior was given a reprieve on five after a Johnson no-ball |
The dismissal heaped yet more pressure on the under-fire Collingwood, who fell for his 10th single-figure Test score in 12 innings, a statistic which England's selectors may find too overwhelming to ignore with the Sydney Test this time next week.
Despite losing two partners in quick succession, Trott remained defiant although a full-length dive just about saved him from a run-out just before accumulating his sixth Test half century from 118 deliveries.
However, the afternoon session was engulfed in yet more drama 10 minutes before tea when Prior was recalled after edging Johnson to Brad Haddin on five.
Prior was told to remain where he was by umpire Dar, who asked for the assistance of his television colleague to check whether Johnson had overstepped the popping crease.
And television replays revealed the left-arm seamer's front foot was on the line - a part of the front foot must be behind the popping crease at the point of delivery to be legal - and therefore a no-ball, earning Prior an unlikely reprieve.
While Prior constantly flirted with fortune, Trott remained indefatigable in defence, working the ball to leg with quiet efficiency off his middle stump while showing excellent judgement to leave anything potentially hazardous outside off.
He was momentarily floored when a nasty inside edge cannoned into his knee, requiring attention from England's physio Kirk Russell. But Trott eschewed the offer of a runner and brought up his third Ashes century in only five matches.
The 29-year-old is second only to Sachin Tendulkar in the leading Test run scorers of 2010.
And he showed no signs of weakness as Australia's bowlers wilted in the late-evening sunshine as the sixth-wicket pair put on 158 runs.
After riding his luck early on in his innings, Prior moved to within 25 runs of his half century with a series of scything drives and lusty blows off leg-spinner Smith as England put themselves in the ideal position to retain the Ashes for the first time in 24 years.
Backers say that the index would "unlock the potential for Sharia investments in India". 
