Graphic: from zeros to heroes: how England batted out the final day

Graphic: the key points from Cardiff

English batsmanship - classic nose-to-the-grindstone, down-in-the-trenches, over-my-dead-body English batsmanship - finally showed its face on the fifth day in Cardiff. And what a welcome sight, in the ruddy features of Paul Collingwood, it was.

Collingwood, unshaven, sunburnt and mired in sweat and dust, batted for 17 minutes shy of six hours, 245 balls of sheer bloody-mindedness and self-restraint, to take England to the brink of safety. Then, as if the cricketing gods had dreamt up the worst torture imaginable, he had to watch from the balcony, fully padded still and full of remorse after not quite seeing the job through, as Monty Panesar and James Anderson blocked out 69 balls to ensure that England go to Lord's on level terms, the Ashes still there for the taking.

A more unlikely pairing with the bat than Anderson and Panesar you could not imagine. They came together with England trailing by six runs and 11.3 overs remaining. Ricky Ponting turned to Peter Siddle with the second new ball after an erratic spell from Mitchell Johnson and Siddle had justified his captain's faith by inducing a forcing back-foot drive from Collingwood that ended up in the hands of Mike Hussey in the gully at the second attempt. The champagne corks in the Australia dressing room were ready to pop.

Collingwood's 74 runs were vital, but more important was the attitude and example he showed, to the dressing room full of batsmen who had made gifts of their wickets earlier in the day and to Anderson and Panesar, who had to make sure that his good work was not wasted. Certainly, Anderson is better than a rabbit these days, but Panesar is a rabbit of Watership Down proportions, the kind of tailender that pros refer to as a ferret - because they go in after the rabbits.

But somehow they repelled everything that was thrown at them. Siddle, fast and loose-tongued, had a newish ball in his hand; Nathan Hauritz, not exactly the spirit of Shane Warne incarnate but still bowling nicely, was teasing from the River Taff End. Anderson lasted for 1hr 12min, facing 53 balls, and Panesar, remarkably, survived 35 balls.

It did not feel so at the time, as fingernails were bitten to the quick, but the two survived without any great alarms, only the odd ball fizzing past the edge as Hauritz's fingers tired after a long day. The biggest danger appeared to be some eccentric running between the wickets.

It was a remarkable end to a Test match that, until the final few hours, had been too one-sided to be considered a classic. But those who were there will not forget the tension as the finish line approached. Each defensive stroke, each run was cheered to the rafters, the first time, surely, that an English team have had such unqualified support in Wales. With 45 balls remaining Anderson squeezed Siddle to the off-side boundary consecutively to take England into the lead and ensure that Australia had to use up two more overs for the change of innings.

Ponting, in desperation, turned to the part-time spin of Marcus North (missing a trick, perhaps, in not trying Michael Clarke's slow left-arm). England, in desperation, began to run down the clock, the twelfth man and the physiotherapist making regular and spurious visits to the middle. The final hour had begun at 5.50pm; so, at 6.39, with ten minutes needed for the change of innings, Anderson settled down to face the final over of the day from Hauritz, with England leading by 12.

At the end of the over Australia, after dominating the game, had run out of time and England, so often in recent times on the receiving end of these agonising draws, had survived. Anderson, Tiger Woods-like, clenched a fist and roared to the gallery.

It had all looked so unlikely in the morning after England had been reduced to 70 for five in the first 90 minutes. Kevin Pietersen, widely criticised for playing too many shots in England's first innings, decided, as if in a hissy fit, to play none at all and was bowled leaving a straight ball from Ben Hilfenhaus.

Andrew Strauss has an important role to play with Pietersen over the next few days - reassuring, cajoling, bollocking, take your pick - but he need not have rushed off to the dressing room to chat so soon after Pietersen's dismissal. Attempting to cut Hauritz to the fence for consecutive fours, he edged to Brad Haddin and had to watch in horror as Matt Prior brainlessly tried to cut a full-length ball from Hauritz against the grain through point. Wickets that had come in a rush in the morning came slowly thereafter, like the drip, drip, drip of a tap designed to torture the minds of England supporters. Andrew Flintoff, playing straight until he steered Johnson to slip, and Graeme Swann, a coconut shy for Siddle's well-aimed bouncers, played their parts.

Either side of tea Swann discovered a brutal truth as his body and helmet took a battering: that playing against Australia as opposed to West Indies is what first-growth wine is to vin de table.

It takes the kind of mental toughness not granted to everyone to withstand cricketers as fiercely proud, committed and skilful as those of Australia. It was a day for substance over style, for bloody-mindedness over brilliance. It was a day for Collingwood.