Adelaide: England picked up the crucial wicket of Justin Langer to reduce Australia to 28 for one after Paul Collingwood and Kevin Pietersen enabled the tourists to post a daunting 551 for six declared in the second Ashes Test on Saturday.

Langer was caught by Pietersen at gully for four off an Andrew Flintoff beauty, leaving Matthew Hayden (12 batting) and Ricky Ponting (11 batting) to a survive a tricky nine-over spell through to stumps.

England were able to declare late in the final session after Collingwood grafted 206 and Pietersen smashed 158 to put the tourists in control of the match just days after they were thrashed by 277 runs in the first Test in Brisbane.

Collingwood became only the third Englishman — and the first since Wally Hammond 70 years ago — to score a Test double-century in Australia after a superb display over eight and half hours. Collingwood’s is the first double hundred by an Englishman in an Adelaide Test.

He also shared a record fourth-wicket partnership of 310 with Pietersen — who equalled his highest Test score — to subdue Australia’s bowlers on a docile pitch.

Shane Warne (one for 167), Brett Lee (one for 139) and Glenn McGrath (none for 107) all completed dubious ‘centuries’ in one of the worst collective performances of their career. Stuart Clark (three for 75) the pick of the bowlers.

Collingwood was out off the last ball before tea but not before he had torn up the record books with a calculated 392-ball innings that featured 16 boundaries and helped erase the disapppointment of getting out for 96 in Brisbane.

He broke Jack Hobbs’ record of 187, set in 1928-29, for the highest score by an Englishman at Adelaide Oval, besides bettering his own previous best Test score of 186 (versus Pakistan earlier this year).