Ricky Ponting accused England of failing to play in the spirit of the game after James Anderson and Monty Panesar survived 69 balls to complete a Great Ashes Escape in Cardiff.

The Australia captain was angry at what he saw as delaying tactics towards the end of the first npower Test, when England’s twelfth man and physiotherapist rushed on to the field to speak to the last-wicket pair.

Andrew Strauss, the relieved England captain, denied foul play and said: “The reality of the situation is that Australia did not take the last wicket and we got away with the draw.”

The third England hero was Paul Collingwood, who struck the slowest fifty by an England batsman for five years and faced 245 balls for his 74 during 343 minutes at the crease.

Times Archive, 1932: Faultfinders and grumblers

It is puerile to complain, as the Sydney Morning Herald observes, about England's tactics as something unfair

• Topic: The Bodyline Series

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But the five-match series was given fresh spice on a nail-biting day when first Mitchell Johnson and Kevin Pietersen, then Peter Siddle and Stuart Broad, were involved in altercations.

Johnson had to be dragged away by Michael Clarke, his team-mate, when Pietersen appeared to hit a ball into his path during pre-match practice on the outfield.

Broad and Siddle were spoken to by the umpires when they made shoulder contact twice after Broad edged the frustrated bowler to the third-man boundary.

Ponting was more annoyed that Bilal Shafayat, the reserve fielder carrying a glove, and Steve McCaig, the physiotherapist, held up play in the final stages when Australia wanted to cram in as many overs as possible.

“I don’t think it was required,” Ponting said. “I think he [Anderson] changed his glove the over before so he shouldn’t have needed another, and I don’t know what the physio was doing out there.

“I thought it was pretty ordinary. But England can play whichever way they want, we will play in the spirit of the game. I was unhappy with it and I am sure others will be taking it up with the England hierarchy.”

Having loaded the gun, Ponting will hope that somebody else now fires the bullets. “I am not going to take it any farther,” he said. “I am not making it an issue. I won’t think about it after tonight.”

Strauss said that Shafayat had been sent out to tell Panesar and Anderson that Australia were likely to bowl more overs than the minimum because they were rushing through balls.

“Some drink was spilt on his [Anderson's] glove,” Strauss said. “Jimmy called up to the dressing room, but in the confusion we did not know if he needed the twelfth man or the physio. Our intentions were good. We were not deliberately trying to waste a huge amount of time.”

Strauss admitted that he was on the edge of his seat on the dressing-room balcony as the last two batsmen thwarted everything that Australia could offer.

“It was horrible to watch,” he said. “As a batsman, to have the numbers 10 and 11 doing what should be your own job is not a place you want to be. I always thought we had lost a wicket or two too many to be able to get a draw. My biggest fear was that Monty would get run out. There was a huge amount of relief and pride at the end.”

Panesar’s unexpected spell in the limelight could be short-lived; he will discover today whether he has done enough to retain his place in the squad for the second Test at Lord’s, beginning on Thursday.

“I was pretty nervous when I got out there,” Panesar said. “I was communicating well with Jimmy. I just concentrated on watching the ball hard, playing straight and taking it one ball at a time.”

Strauss acknowledged that England must improve for Lord’s, but lavished praise on Collingwood. “He is a tenacious little redhead,” he said. “That is what he is and that is how he plays.”