Monty Panesar celebrates the run-out of Ricky Ponting in Sydney on Wednesday. (AP)

Sydney: England fought back from another batting collapse on Wednesday to grab four wickets before Australia began to reassert their control on the second day of the fifth and final Ashes Test.

England blew their chance of posting a big first innings total when they lost their last six wickets for just 46 runs in the morning to be all out for 291.

However, the tourists gave themselves a glimmer of hope of salvaging something from a disastrous tour by picking up a quartet of wickets in the afternoon to restrict Australia to 188 for four by stumps.

Fast bowler Steve Harmison dismissed Matthew Hayden and Michael Clarke while seamer James Anderson got rid of Justin Langer then ran out Ricky Ponting with a brilliant piece of fielding.

Mike Hussey and Andrew Symonds then returned after a one-hour rain delay to tip the balance back Australia’s way.

Hussey, who has made at least 50 in all but one of his previous innings in the series, was unbeaten on 37 at the close with fourth Test centurion Symonds not out 22 and looking in an ominous mood.

Hayden departed for 33 when he mistimed a cut from Harmison to Paul Collingwood at second slip then Anderson threw down the stumps from mid-on to get rid of Ponting for 45 when the Australian skipper was caught short of his ground.

Clarke went for 11 when he flashed at a short ball from Harmison and was caught by wicketkeeper Chris Read. Read also took a sharp legside catch off Anderson’s bowling to send Langer on his way for 26 in the left-hander’s final Test before retirement.

Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne, who are also quitting the Test arena, fared better in their last appearances with McGrath bagging three wickets and Warne claiming his 1,000th international victim.

Australia’s three paceman McGrath, Brett Lee and Stuart Clark shared the first nine wickets to fall before Warne trapped Monty Panesar leg before for a duck to join Sri Lanka’s Muttiah Muralitharan as the only players to claim 1,000 ODI and Test wickets.

England had resumed on 234 for 4 and were looking to build on their encouraging performance from day one, only to see their lower-order crumble after the Australian seamers took the second new ball.

The only Englishman to show any sustained resistance was skipper Andrew Flintoff, who made an aggressive 89 in easily his best show of the tour.