Alastair Cook anchored England’s rearguard action on the fourth day of the third Ashes Test at Perth - but the tourists are still staring down the barrel of defeat. They finished the day on 265 for five after veteran quick Glenn McGrath took the wickets of Cook and night watchman Matthew Hoggard in the final overs of play.

Cook was the star of the day with his 116, the fourth and possible most important century in the 21-year-old opener’s short career. The young Essex batsman showed a lot of patience and grit in a 290-ball knock that was by no means easy going as he struggled to handle the turn of Shane Warne. Cook’s innings may never have threatened the fireworks that Adam Gilchrist showed the previous day but in the context of the game it was probably more important and in many ways just as enthralling.

Cook came to Australia with considerable promise but his tendency to slash at deliveries outside off stump had been exposed by the Aussies in previous matches. This time the talented left-hander smartly resisted temptation in a classy innings that may prove to be the defining moment of the young rising star of English cricket.

Cook’s 170-run second wicket stand with Ian Bell, who scored a superb 87, frustrated the Australians for half of the day’s play and gave England a sniff of salvaging something from their second dig. No Australian bowler became more flustered than Warne, who bowled tirelessly in the afternoon heat for little reward. Both batsmen coughed up chances, Cook surviving a tough one to Matthew Hayden on 84, while Gilchrist dropped a low chance when Bell was on 73. It was Warne who finally induced Bell into a false shot to Justin Langer on 87.

The main priority of both batsmen was to occupy the crease and eat up time to help make the draw a possibility. But they and Kevin Pietersen, who followed, showed that some of the lessons from the calamitous final day in Adelaide had been learned. England did not completely go into their shell and Bell smashed two sixes off Warne’s early overs on his way to his 50 off only 83 balls. The Warwickshire batsman found the going much tougher from then on, however, with the Aussies drying up the runs by bowling a tighter line. And Bell’s remaining 37 runs took him 80 deliveries to compile.

With the partnership between Cook and Pietersen surpassing 50 runs and starting to look fruitful, the idea of England chasing down the victory target of 557 started to enter the minds of a few fans and commentators. Pietersen was looking solid and ticking over the scoreboard while Cook was starting to loosen up after some tough times in the nineties. And a final-day target of less than 300 with two in-form batsmen at the crease started to seem attainable.