Ricky Ponting [Images] and Matthew Hayden [Images] scored half-centuries to help Australia seize control of the third Ashes Test against England [Images] at the WACA on Friday.

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Ponting continued his insatiable run-feast with an unbeaten 57 and Hayden posted his best score of the series to reach the close on day two also on 57 not out with Australia on 119 for one in their second innings, 148 runs ahead.

Seamer Matthew Hoggard [Images] bowled Justin Langer with the first ball of the Australian innings but England's joy was short-lived as Ponting and Hayden's unbroken partnership lifted Australia further after they had bowled England out for 215.

England, needing to win or draw the match to keep the series alive, started the day in a strong position at 51 for two in reply to Australia's modest first-innings total of 244.

Kevin Pietersen [Images] top-scored with an adventurous 70 and opener Andrew Strauss [Images] made a patient 42 but none of England's other recognised batsman made more than 15.

England's dismal total would have been even worse had tailenders Steve Harmison and Monty Panesar [Images] not added 40 for the last wicket after coming to the crease with the tourists in disarray at 175 for nine.

The pair, who had shared nine Australian first-innings wickets, smacked three boundaries each before Harmison skied a catch to Brett Lee [Images] on 23, leaving the charismatic Panesar unbeaten on 16 in his first appearance of the series.

Stuart Clark picked up three wickets to overtake Hoggard as the leading wicket-taker in the series with 14 victims. Lee, Glenn McGrath and Andrew Symonds [Images] got two each and Shane Warne [Images] one.

England beat Australia 2-1 at home last year to win the Ashes for the first time since 1986-87 but are in danger of handing them straight back after losing the first two Tests in Brisbane and Adelaide.

The tourists made their best start to the five-match series when they rolled the Australians cheaply on the first day before their own batting failed again.

Any hopes England had of grabbing a first-innings lead evaporated in the morning session when they lost Strauss, Paul Collingwood [Images], Andrew Flintoff [Images] and Geraint Jones before lunch.

Collingwood departed for 11 in the fourth over when he slashed a wide delivery to Hayden at gully and Strauss followed, caught by wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist [Images], although television replays indicated he had missed the ball.

Flintoff, who has scored just 69 runs in the series, edged medium-pacer Symonds to Warne at first slip to continue his slump and Jones registered his first duck in 52 Test innings when he spooned Symonds to Langer at gully.

England slumped to 128 for seven when Sajid Mahmood departed for 10 shortly after lunch before England's lower-order staged a fightback.

DEFIANT STAND

Hoggard survived 46 minutes to help guide Pietersen to his half-century off 108 balls while Harmison and Panesar put the England batsmen to shame with their defiant last-wicket stand.

Pietersen, who made 92 in Brisbane and 158 in Adelaide, once again provided the backbone of the innings, batting patiently to reach his 50 before exploding into life as he started running out of partners.

He had a let-off on 53 when McGrath dropped him on the boundary but continued with his fearless approach, belting 15 runs off one over from Warne, including a massive six over extra cover, before he chanced his arm once too often and skied a catch to Symonds at long-off.

England could not have made a better start when Hoggard shattered Langer's stumps with a perfect inswinger but Ponting and Hayden slowly turned the screws.

Ponting struck seven boundaries in another superb display.

The left-handed Hayden slammed nine fours to chalk up his first 50 of the series and lay the foundations for a bigger score on a WACA pitch starting to flatten out after 21 wickets tumbled on the first two days.