Away side well on top as rain threatens to interrupt play at Old Trafford in the afternoon.
Australia claimed three early wickets as they looked to stay alive in not just the Test match but also the series at lunch on the final day at Old Trafford.
England lost Alastair Cook, Jonathan Trott and Kevin Pietersen as they lurched into the first, but with possible rain and bad light coming into play later in the day, the elements could still play their part.
Scorecard
England v Australia
Played at Old Trafford
Toss won by Australia
Australia 1st Innings 527-7 dec (M Clarke 187, S Smith 89, C Rogers 84, M Starc 66 no, B Haddin 65 no; G Swann 5-159)
England 1st Innings 368 (K Pietersen 113, A Cook 62, I Bell 60; P Siddle 4-63, M Starc 3-76)
Australia 2nd Innings (overnight: 172-7)
C. Rogers c Prior b Broad 12
D. Warner c Root b Bresnan 41
U. Khawaja b Swann 24
S. Watson c Pietersen b Bresnan 18
M. Clarke not out 30
S. Smith run out (sub/Prior/Anderson) 19
B. Haddin c Broad b Anderson 8
M. Starc c Swann b Anderson 11
R. Harris not out 0
Extras (b4, lb2, w3) 9
Total (7 wkts dec, 36 overs, 177 mins) 172
Fall of wickets: 1-23 (Rogers), 2-74 (Warner), 3-99 (Khawaja), 4-103 (Watson), 5-133 (Smith), 6-152 (Haddin), 7-172 (Starc)
Bowling: Anderson 8-0-37-2 (1w); Broad 7-2-30-1; Swann 15-0-74-1; Bresnan 6-0-25-2 (2w);
England 2nd Innings (target: 332)
A. Cook lbw b Harris 0
J. Root not out 13
J. Trott c Haddin b Harris 11
K. Pietersen c Haddin b Siddle 8
I. Bell not out 2
Extras (w1) 1
Total (3 wkts, 20 overs, 92 mins) 35
Fall of wickets: 1-0 (Cook), 2-15 (Trott), 3-27 (Pietersen)
To bat: J Bairstow, M Prior, T Bresnan, S Broad, G Swann, J Anderson
Bowling: Harris 7-3-13-2; Starc 4-2-6-0 (1w); Watson 2-2-0-0; Lyon 3-0-8-0; Siddle 3-0-6-1; Clarke 1-0-2-0
Match position: England need 297 more runs to win with seven wickets standing
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