Kevin Pietersen in action on Sunday

Brisbane: Kevin Pietersen was eyeing a century after Paul Collingwood made 96 as England finally found some form to stall Australia’s march towards victory in the first Ashes Test on Sunday.

Pietersen belted 14 boundaries in an unbeaten 92, while Collingwood fell four short of a hundred to help England reach 293 for five in their second innings and force the match into a final day. Leg-spinner Shane Warne, who went wicketless in the first innings, dismissed four batsmen.

Australia, who lost the Ashes to England in 2005 for the first time since 1989, were looking to wrap up victory with a day to spare after dominating the first three days at the Gabba and declaring before lunch on Sunday with a massive 647-run lead.

With no real prospect of victory, England’s best hope of salvaging something from the match was to try and survive the last two days to force a draw or get some valuable batting practice before the second Test in Adelaide from Friday.

But their chances of achieving either of those aims seemed doomed when they lost Andrew Strauss (11), Ian Bell (0) and Alastair Cook (43) to slump to 91 for three. Pietersen and Collingwood then set about restoring England’s pride.

Despite the team’s grim position, the pair went on the attack, treating the Australian bowlers with contempt. They piled on 153 for the fourth wicket at almost a run a minute, finally giving their travelling supporters a reason to cheer.

Australia’s grip on the match was, however, tempered by injuries to Ponting and Glenn McGrath. Ponting was unable to field on Sunday after injuring his back, while McGrath bowled only 12 overs in the entire day after needing a painkilling injection to treat bruising to his left heel.