Quotes by Ricky Ponting,Brett Lee and michael Vaughan following the Third Test at Old Trafford

Captain Ricky Ponting admitted he thought he had cost Australia the game after being caught behind with 24 balls remaining in the Old Trafford Test.

Ponting made a brilliant 156 but had to watch final pair Brett Lee and Glenn McGrath hold on for the last four overs to secure the draw.

Ponting said: "I worked really hard but I thought I'd cocked it up at the end.

"It was a big game in the series and it was a big result for us after being out-played in the first few days."

McGrath and Lee held on against Andrew Flintoff and Steve Harmison to deny England what seemed like a certain victory and keep the five-match series level at 1-1.

Ponting said: "Brett and Glenn showed a lot of character to get us through.

"It's a bit of relief, I guess. We knew if we applied ourselves during the day we had a good chance of hanging in there and saving the game.

"There was a lot of finger-crossing in the dressing-room but we're alive in the series and ready for the next one."

Last-gasp hero Lee was delighted to have survived the last onslaught, particularly having taken Australia so close to an unlikely win at Edgbaston.

He said: "It's been very nerve-wracking - I'm not sure if I can keep going through this sort of thing.

"There's been so much going on in the last two Tests. It just went our way on this occasion - we were pretty happy to get away with a draw.

"But I've been working hard (on my batting) and I've been on at Ricky to move me up the order."

The series now moves on to Trent Bridge with Australia facing some tricky selection dilemmas.

Matthew Hayden, Damien Martyn and Adam Gilchrist are still struggling for form with the bat and Jason Gillespie's three wickets in the series so far have come at a cost of 100 runs each.

But it would represent a big gamble by the selectors to thrust uncapped Brad Hodge and Shaun Tait into the side with the series so finely poised.

"We need to find a way of bowling out England cheaper and scoring a few more runs," Lee added.

"I think our performance was outstanding all the way through," Vaughan said. "We dominated the game."

"The guys have shown a lot of character - especially the guys under pressure, who've shown they are quality players."

"The series is really well poised and we are looking forward to the last two Tests now."

Vaughan chose to draw on the many positives from the match, which saw England in command for the second Test in succession

"It's just great that we're playing good cricket," he said.

"The Ashes so far has been fantastic to play in and this has been another great game of cricket.

"I really want to congratulate our team because at Lord's we went one-nil down and in the last three weeks we have shown a hell of a lot of character."

The skipper admitted that the frustrating rain-affected Saturday, when only 14 overs were possible and no Australian wickets were taken, ultimately cost England victory.

"It's never good when you lose a day of rain, but you can only control what goes on in the middle," he said.

"There are a few tired bodies," he admitted.

"A lot of the guys have put a hell of a lot of hard work into the two weeks at Edgbaston and here, so we'll have a week off and make sure we come back at Trent Bridge and play another good game.

"Both teams are playing good, entertaining cricket. It's fantastic that so many people came to watch and we really thank the crowd for their support."

Vaughan also paid tribute to counterpart Ricky Ponting, who batted virtually all day for a magnificent 156.

"He played a fantastic knock, he really made it hard for us to get him out and held their innings together," Vaughan said.

"Obviously there is disappointment with us getting so close but we can walk off that pitch with our heads held high," he said.

"We've shown that we can compete with Australia and beat them but next week that will count for nothing and they will come at us hard.

"The last two Tests have been compelling viewing and hopefully the last two will be as well."

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