Australia face a titanic challenge to extend their 75-year unbeaten Ashes run at Lord’s after James Anderson helped England to seize a grip on the second npower Test.

When bad light ended day two early, Australia were 156 for eight, 70 runs shy of the follow-on target, with Mike Hussey calling on the side to reproduce England’s fighting spirit from Cardiff. But not even a recurrence of Kevin Pietersen’s Achilles injury could dent the optimism in the England dressing room five days after their great escape in the first Test.

Anderson was given a “well done” by the Duke of Edinburgh when the teams were presented to the Queen and her husband during the lunch break, and proceeded to inflict more damage on the touring side.

Figures of four for 36 are already his best against Australia and followed another effective cameo in a last-wicket stand of 47 with Graham Onions that roused the side for a strong start in the field.

Times Archive, 1934: England beat Australia at Lord's

England won by an innings and 38 runs on the third day of the match, with Verity taking a total of 15 wickets

• Topic: The 1981 Ashes

• Topic: The Bodyline Series

Related Links

• How England won the Ashes with Hawk-Eye

• Ashes notebook: Prior gets rid of glove demons

• Hughes yet to go to town on England’s bowlers

Multimedia

• MICHAEL ATHERTON: Ponting in search of Lord’s prayer

“We had a long chat after Cardiff,” Anderson said. “We know we did not bowl well enough and got out of jail. This time we executed our plans better and bowled really well.” Even so, England cannot have imagined that Australia would be so compliant, with five batsmen succumbing on the hook or pull, including Mitchell Johnson and Brad Haddin late in the day.

“We targeted a couple of their guys with the short ball but some of the others we got wickets by bowling tightly,” Anderson said. “Marcus North, we dried up and he went for the pull.”

Australia lost six wickets for 49 runs after Simon Katich and Hussey had posted 93 for the third wicket. “We are all going to have to do our job as well as we can and have a bit of luck to hang in there,” Hussey said.

Pietersen was limping in the field and at one point left to receive treatment for the injury he first sustained in the Caribbean earlier in the year. He was given an injection in his back before Cardiff and another in his Achilles two days before this game, which would appear not to have done the trick.

There is a gap of nine full days after this match before the series resumes at Edgbaston on Thursday week, and a team spokesman said: “If he absolutely has to have another jab, then he could.”

England: First Innings (overnight 364-6)
*A J Strauss b Hilfenhaus 161
S C J Broad b Hilfenhaus 16
G P Swann c Ponting b Siddle 4
J M Anderson c Hussey b Johnson 29
G Onions not out 17
Extras (b 15, lb 2, nb 8) 25
Total (101.4 overs) 425
Fall of wickets: 1-196, 2-222, 3-267, 4-302, 5-317, 6-333, 7-364, 8-370, 9-378
Bowling: Hilfenhaus 31-12-103-4; Johnson 21.4-2-132-3; Siddle 20-1-76-2; Hauritz 8.3-1-26-0; North 16.3-2-59-0; Clarke 4-1-12-1

Australia: First Innings
P J Hughes c Prior b Anderson 4
S M Katich c Broad b Onions 48
*R T Ponting c Strauss b Anderson 2
M E K Hussey b Flintoff 51
M J Clarke c Cook b Anderson 1
M J North b Anderson 0
†B J Haddin c Cook b Broad 28
M G Johnson c Cook b Broad 4
N M Hauritz not out 3
P M Siddle not out 3
Extras (b 4, lb 6, nb 2) 12
Total (8 wkts, 49 overs) 156
To bat: B W Hilfenhaus

Fall of wickets: 1-4, 2-10, 3-103, 4-111, 5-111, 6-139, 7-148, 8-152.
Bowling: Anderson 17-5-36-4; Flintoff 12-4-27-1; Broad 11-1-47-2; Onions 8-1-32-1; Swann 1-0-4-0.
Umpires: B R Doctrove (West Indies) and R E Koertzen (South Africa)