St. Peter's: A counter-attacking partnership of 140 between Ian Bell and Kevin Pietersen helped England wrest control of Sunday's Super Eight match against Australia at the Sir Vivian Richards Cricket Ground here.

England reached 168 for four in 31 overs after Shaun Tait reduced it to 24 for two. Pietersen (65) and Andrew Flintoff (1) were at the wicket. Michael Vaughan (5), Andrew Strauss (7), Bell (77) and Paul Collingwood (2) were the batsmen dismissed.

The lines of scrimmage were constantly re-drawn even before the match began. The English team, with its posse of support staff, dominated the field; the Australians were tightly contained in one quarter. Paul Nixon and a slip cordon caught very close to where Nathan Bracken and Shaun Tait did their utmost to bend a plastic knock-about stump.

Strauss shadowed strokes on the track, his image glimmering on its shiny surface, as Tait tape-measured out his run-up. Mats and towels were laid out on the grassy knolls, banners unfurled, and sun-screen bottles popped open.

— Photo: AP

STRIKING EARLY: Shaun Tait picked up two wickets to have England in a spot of bother.

Vaughan won the toss and was soon pulling his elbows out of the way of a Tait bouncer. His partner, Bell, had crouched on a wide Bracken loosener to get off the mark. Ten runs had come — including a half-edged, half-guided four from the England captain — when Tait banged in another bouncer.

Vaughan, early in his innings, is apt to play as if he were cramped in an Economy Class seat — his stiff-armed forcing strokes take time to turn classical. On Sunday, he hadn't the time to construct a sufficient backfoot defence; Tait's delivery ballyragged him into playing on.

Bracken, at the other end, was asking different questions, but they were no less uncomfortable. With Adam Gilchrist standing up, the left-armer bowled fuller lengths than Tait. The change in angle, the decrease in pace, and an off-side field more cloistral in front of the wicket forced the batsmen to change their method and outlook.

Strauss's return — at Ed Joyce's expense — lasted all of 10 balls. He looked to be aggressive and queered the bat angle to score square. But, Tait overwhelmed him. Again, it was surprising to see a world-class batsman being so comprehensively beaten by the union of pace and length. Thus were brought together Bell and Pietersen, a pair the Australian team is wary of.

They were helped by the fact that Ponting gave his opening bowlers five- and four-over first spells. Pietersen and Bell had only two overs of Bracken and one of Tait to contend with.

Profitable period

In 55 balls the pair put on 50 runs as they targeted Glenn McGrath.

Michael Clarke's introduction in the first over of the second Power Play made it a profitable period at seven an over. Overs 14 and 15 yielded 25.

Bell and Pietersen differ in stature and stroke-production. Where Pietersen used his long reach and loose wrists to pile-drive Clarke's left-arm spin straight and pitch-fork the same bowler over long-on, the shorter Bell used a more traditional flow of the bat to deal with McGrath. One over, he drove the seamer over cover, square, and through cover again. Not for a moment during those strokes did Bell divorce the orthodox.

McGrath's three-over spell cost Australia 25 as Brad Hogg's left-arm wrist spin and Andrew Symonds's medium pace were called on. Pietersen and Bell reached their half-centuries in the same over.

— PHOTO: AFP

ON SONG: Kevin Pietersen was in full flow against Australia on Sunday.

Pietersen was let off immediately; Ricky Ponting leapt to his right at mid-wicket to try and snag the stroke a Symonds slower ball had provoked — only by Australia's own stringent standards, however, can it be termed a chance that should have been taken.

Ponting delayed Power Play Three as Bell and Pietersen brought up the 100 of the partnership in 108 balls. Aware Australia needed a wicket, Ponting threw the ball to Tait and McGrath and enforced Power Play Three in the 27th over.

Pietersen complied and miscued Tait, but Hayden, running around from mid-off, dropped it. He never did look comfortable under the catch.

But, an unreal moment allowed Australia the tiniest of toes in the door. Pietersen pulled. Umpire Rudi Koertzen's split-legged leap stopped it. Four runs turned into a single. Bell, who shouldn't have faced, sliced the next ball to Hussey.

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