England were 234 for four in their first innings at the close on the first day of the fifth Ashes test against Australia on Tuesday.
England captain Andrew Flintoff was unbeaten on 42 with Paul Collingwood on 25 after the pair shared an unbroken fifth-wicket partnership of 67.
Ian Bell made 71 and Kevin Pietersen 41 in a third-wicket stand of 108 before both were dismissed by Australian fast bowler Glenn McGrath in the space of four balls.
Australia paceman Brett Lee dismissed Andrew Strauss for 29 before lunch and Stuart Clark removed Alastair Cook for 20 in the afternoon session.
England batsman Bell experienced mixed emotions after making a battling 71.
He was bowled by a fine delivery from Glenn McGrath to miss out on a century for the fourth time in the series after passing 50.
He said: 'There is a little bit of frustration but I got a pretty decent delivery so I can't grumble too much.
'McGrath bowled really well today, there was a bit in the wicket all day and we had to really work hard and graft for our runs.'
Bell batted over three hours for his 71 runs but said that was mainly down to the quality of bowling by the experienced McGrath, playing his final test, and fellow seamer Stuart Clark.
'They didn't give us a lot to hit and you have to credit to Australia for bowling really well,' the 24-year-old added.
Australian coach John Buchanan said his attack had bowled well and claims the match is evenly-poised after Paul Collingwood and Andrew Flintoff shared an unbroken 67-run stand before the close.
He said: 'I think it's about even. We'd have loved to taken one or two more wickets and possibly England would have liked to have scored another 20 or 30 runs but I thought we bowled pretty well through the day.
'We caused a few played and missed and a few edges during the day, but then England batted reasonably resolutely.
'I think it's evenly poised and with the new ball due it could be a crucial time for both sides.
'We beat the bat quite a bit and when we had them two down early on there might have been some ghosts floating around in the dressing room - but I think they responded well.'
