In reply, Australia were 35 for no wicket at tea.

A scintillating display of bowling prompts an England collapse

The morning undoubtedly belonged to McGrath who destroyed England's top order to claim his 50th Ashes wicket and leave the tourists reeling at 76 for six by the break.

But it took Australia only two overs after lunch to collect their seventh wicket - with Dominic Cork caught at second slip by captain Mark Taylor off Damien Fleming for two.

Five overs later Fleming destroyed England's only hope of saving face when Mark Ramprakash was caught at first slip by captain Mark Taylor on 26.

Darren Gough and youngster Alex Tudor then forged a confident-looking late stand to push the England total past the 100-mark.

Tudor, particularly, looked every part the batsman in his opening innings at the crease for England.

But when Gough was caught at second slip off Damien Fleming and Mullally was finally caught behind after a number of desperate swipes, it left England with their lowest ever total at the WACA and gave Australia a superb opportunity to bat their way to victory in the second Test.

McGrath leaves England reeling

Australia's premier paceman utilised the WACA's fast and bouncy wicket to grab three early wickets despite England fielding seven batsmen in an attempt to strengthen their line-up in the bowler-friendly conditions.

Deja Vu: Glenn McGrath again dismisses Mike Atherton

McGrath, who entered the second Test on 49 wickets in just nine Ashes Tests, dominated the early session and took just seven overs to bring up his Ashes milestone by dismissing opener Michael Atherton for the 12th time in the last nine Tests.

Mark Butcher: Out for a duck

Swing bowler Fleming, preferred to Michael Kasprowicz after Australia won the toss and decided to field, made the breakthrough for Australia by tempting Mark Butcher into edging behind to Ian Healy for a duck.

But McGrath quickly heightened England's crisis by sending Atherton back to the pavilion when he edged behind and Nasser Hussain fell in identical circumstances just four overs later to leave England on 19 for three.

Stewart settles in

Captain Alec Stewart, shrugging off his poor previous form having made five single figure scores in the last six innings, responded to the crisis by playing his most authoritative performance of the series so far.

It was a brief success, however, as McGrath ended his hour-long stay at the crease when he seamed a full-length delivery to shatter Stewart's stumps via an inside edge after the England captain had progressed to 38 off 29 balls.

But if England believed their only threat came from McGrath, Jason Gillespie soon addressed the misconception by grabbing two wickets in three balls after replacing Fleming from the Hay Street End.

Lancashire's John Crawley arrived at the crease after Stewart's dismissal but looked anything but convincing in his 17-ball innings and was fortunate to escape being dropped on two in the gully by Steve Waugh off Colin Miller.

But in the very next over, his luck ran out when he attempted to drive Gillespie but the shot was too far away from his body for him to control and he instead edged to Mark Waugh at second slip.

Graeme Hick, who has been restricted to a handful of net practices since being flown out as cover for Atherton's back injury a fortnight ago, lasted just two deliveries before Gillespie struck again by having the Worcestershire batsman caught behind.

Scorecard:

Australia: First innings

M Taylor not out 16
M Slater not out 16

Extras: 3
Total: (for no wicket, 13 overs) 35

England: First innings

M Butcher c Healy b Fleming 0
M Atherton c Healy b McGrath 1
N Hussain c Healy b McGrath 6
A Stewart b McGrath 38
M Ramprakash c Taylor b Fleming 26
J Crawley not out 4
G A Hick c Healy b Gillespie 0
D G Cork c Taylor b Fleming 2
A Tudor not out 18
D Gough c M Waugh b Fleming 11
A Mullally c Healy b Fleming 0

Extras: 6
Total: (all out, 38.5 overs) 112

Fall: 1-2 2-4 3-19 4-62 5-74 6-74 7-81 8-90 9-108

Bowling: McGrath 16-4-37-3; Fleming 14-3-46-5; Gillespie 7-0-23-2; Miller 2-0-4-0