Champion players are often a catalyst for a team's change in fortunes, and Brett Lee answered the call of captain and country yesterday. A nine-over spell either side of tea of sustained hostility and no little skill with the old ball changed the complexion of the day, reducing the Lions from 172 for nought to 220 for five.

If there was any doubt about Lee's participation in Cardiff, there is none now. Before his magic, the Lions' opening batsmen had continued the patriotic duty begun by the seam bowlers the day before. Joe Denly, quick of feet, crisp of strokeplay and orthodox of method, played well for his half-century but was outdone by Stephen Moore, South African born and raised but now entrenched with Worcestershire, who went through to his first first-class century of the season on the point of tea.

As a home boy, the cover drive to register his hundred brought the biggest cheer of the day, the second biggest coming when another Worcestershire player, Steven Davies, waltzed to his half-century as the shadows lengthened and the Australians visibly tired. Davies and Adil Rashid, who played breezily, shared an 86-run partnership to ensure that the good work of the opening pair did not go to waste.

At tea, the Australians had looked as flat as the beer in these parts and it needed sharp words between Ricky Ponting and Lee to spark their change in fortunes. Ponting was seemingly unimpressed that his premier fast bowler was joshing with the crowd on the boundary so he ordered, rather than invited, Lee into the attack.

With his third ball he pegged back Denly's stumps, then swung one into Ian Bell's pads first ball, the batsman's imploring, pained look in the umpire's direction not enough to prevent the dreaded finger.

This was supposed to be the occasion for Bell to press his claims for the Ashes, but Moore stole his thunder. He has not had a particularly productive first-class season, but his form picked up during the Twenty20 Cup and the selectors clearly have seen something they like. At 28 and five years older than Denly, though, possibly the Kent man is the better bet for international honours.

Moore fell hooking Lee into Brad Haddin's gloves, a good running catch by the wicketkeeper making up for a spill earlier in the day off Stuart Clark. Vikram Solanki, always vulnerable to the full swinging ball with his high backlift, was bowled and Eoin Morgan was undone by a full, late inswinging yorker to complete Lee's five-for - his first, remarkably, in England.

This was a tough old day for the Australians with the sun beating down unrelentingly, humidity high and the pitch having lost any movement or bounce from the day before. It was, therefore, a particularly good workout before Cardiff, in contrast to England's bullying of Warwickshire.

Apart from the miles into bowlers' legs, Lee's wickets and Clark's sustained accuracy, though, there was precious little else for the Australians to take from the day: no swing for Mitchell Johnson, with new or old ball and he looked short of match fitness.There was also little turn for Nathan Hauritz, who was treated with disdain. The benign conditions notwithstanding, Ponting was again reminded what he is missing.

A good spinner would not necessarily have taken a bundle of wickets, but would have helped to stem the flow of runs. Hauritz, though, was never allowed to settle, almost as if the order had come from on high. So ineffective is he at the moment, and so lacking in guile or deception, the order may come in the second innings to make him look better than he is to try to con the Australia selectors into including him in Cardiff.

It looks increasingly likely, though, that the touring team will play four fast bowlers in the first Test. What an irony if, two years on from Shane Warne's retirement - the leg spinner having supposedly revitalised the art of slow bowling in Australia - England played two tweakers in the opening Test and Australia none.

Australians: First Innings (overnight 337-8)
M E K Hussey b Harmison 150
N M Hauritz c Denly b Onions 11
S R Clark not out 10
Extras (b 6, lb 10, nb 3) 19
Total (96.4 overs) 358
Fall of wickets: 1-19, 2-24, 3-165, 4-185, 5-186, 6-197, 7-306, 8-315, 9-348.
Bowling: Onions 23.4-3-70-3; Harmison 25-3-80-4; Bresnan 17-1-46-3; Mahmood 17-2-74-0; Rashid 14-1-72-0.

England Lions: First Innings
J L Denly b Lee 66
S C Moore c Haddin b Lee 120
*I R Bell lbw b Lee 0
V S Solanki b Lee 8
E J G Morgan lbw b Lee 4
†S M Davies c Clarke b North 53
A U Rashid not out 36
T T Bresnan not out 0
Extras (b 5, lb 2, nb 8) 15
Total (6 wkts, 81 overs) 302
S J Harmison, G Onions and S I Mahmood to bat.
Fall of wickets: 1-172, 2-172, 3-198, 4-209, 5-209, 6-295.
Bowling: Johnson 20-1-101-0; Lee 20-5-53-5; Clark 14-2-30-0; Hauritz 18-1-80-0; Clarke 4-0-15-0; North 5-1-16-1.
Umpires: J H Evans and J W Lloyds.