CRICKET/Ashes Series, fifth Test:Blame Paul Collingwood. He started it yesterday morning when he stuck a big stick in a hornets' nest and England got stung. Until then, Shane Warne had ambled his way through his final Test, only one wicket in the first innings and by the looks of him intent on having a merry heave-ho with the bat, just for a bit of enjoyment.

Then, having hit his first two balls from Monty Panesar for a swept four and slogged six, he pushed forward and found something that turned, bounced and, to most people except the umpire Aleem Dar, brushed a batting glove on the way through to Chris Read. It may prove to have cost England any chance they entertained of winning the match. Collingwood, who had the best view of anyone, standing at slip as he was, said something to Warne and the game went pear-shaped.

From an unpromising position, Australia, through the means of the sort of counter-attacking charge postulated by Sun Tzu in The Art of War and advocated for his team by coach John Buchanan, established a lead of 102.

First Andrew Symonds and Adam Gilchrist and then Warne and Stuart Clark provided a bridgehead from which the hosts would have felt confident of pushing for their fifth and final victory.

"You, mate," retorted Warne to Collingwood, somewhere among a treasure chest of insults and epithets during the couple of hours he was at the crease, "are making me concentrate."

Later, England seamer Jimmy Anderson came to Collingwood's defence, loyally dismissing the incident as "a bit of handbags". "Some players enjoy having a bit of banter with other players and that is one of the things Colly is good at, so if he wants to do it then so be it."

There is no doubt, however, that it did serve to inspire Warne, who resorted to telling Collingwood he might think to return the MBE after contributing just 17 runs in his only appearance during the victorious Ashes series of 2005.

"It fires me up a bit and I told him that in Adelaide, too," explained Warne. "I was letting him know my thoughts as well and that was making me concentrate and make me even more determined.

"I just thought it was good fun and that's the way he wanted to play it and I was more than happy to play that game - that suits me fine."

Warne, with Gilchrist, gave Australia the lead before the left-hander was deemed caught at the wicket chasing a wide delivery with the second new ball. That Gilchrist stood his ground was indication enough that he had been hard done by for he is an honourable fellow, a walker, one of the few. Umpires, though, cannot make decisions on reputation alone.

Even then, with a brisk finish to the innings, the game would have remained evenly poised. But Flintoff does not possess the attack given to Michael Vaughan. There came a point where he and Steve Harmison had to hand over the bowling, and Warne tucked in. He found an ally in Clark, a black-and-white batsman who simply blocks or bashes, often by numbers it seems. There was much wafting at thin air but some good connections as well.

By the time England got Clark's measure, a steepling catch going up to Kevin Pietersen at midwicket, the pair had collected 68 runs for the ninth wicket, and Warne, the magician, was beginning to dream dreams of a maiden Test century in his final match. That he self-detonated rather than his partner going was perhaps right and proper.

Had this been an Adelaide featherbed, England might have entertained confident thoughts of a big second innings. But the pitch has offered assistance to the best seamers all match and it was still there for Australia.

So, by the close only Pietersen, watchful and reticent for his 29, stood between England and defeat as they slumped to 114 for five, a lead of a paltry dozen runs.

Wickets went to the deserving seamers, first Brett Lee, who took two through pace alone and rattled the brains of Andrew Strauss so severely that on completion of his innings he went to hospital to check that they were undamaged, and a couple for Clark, surely Australia's player of the series, who having nipped out Strauss then added Collingwood.

Warne, of course, had the final word, coming on to bowl late in the day and spinning one past Flintoff so that Gilchrist was able to complete a stumping with the England captain's back foot anchored on - but not - behind the crease.

Guardian Service