CRICKET:MICHAEL CLARKE has issued an apology on Twitter for failing to walk when he was dismissed off the last ball of the fourth day of the second Ashes Test.

Clarke had held up England for nearly three hours, but brazened it out when umpire Tony Hill gave him not out. England immediately called for a television referral, convinced he had been caught at short leg.

“Just want to apologise for not walking off the ground tonight when I hit the ball,” Clarke tweeted. “I was just so disappointed, my emotions got the best of me.”

There was no apology, however, from Clarke’s batting partner, Mike Hussey, who related without any embarrassment whatsoever that he too had tried to convince Hill not to give the decision.

“Michael was pretty destroyed at getting out,” said Hussey, who was unbeaten on 44 at the close. “He had played awesome cricket, the way we have loved watching him play. It was just disappointing that he could not get through to the end of the day.

“Initially, I remember looking back at the umpire and yelling ‘no, no, no’, hoping he wasn’t going to give it out. But I could tell in Michael’s body language that he knew he was out and that it was going to show up on the video.”

Clarke’s dismissal, however, was welcomed by England, who endured an otherwise frustrating final session.

“It’s a massive bonus for us,” Graeme Swann said. “For the last session it was tough going with Australia’s two best players of spin at the crease, both of them playing well. It wasn’t very enjoyable because the ball got wet and my fingers got sore. It was one of those sessions where I felt the world was against me.”

Swann was eventually replaced by Kevin Pietersen, who, having scored a double century in England’s first innings, took Clarke’s wicket in his second over.

“Clarke is the best player of spin. For KP to get him out like that was magic,” said Swann. “The only people who say KP is an outcast are those who are not in the group. We love KP – especially when he is getting a double hundred and taking their best player out in the last over.”

Pietersen had taken centre stage at both ends by following that career-best batting performance with taking that key wicket.

Pietersen added the final flourish to a magisterial double hundred in the morning sun before he was dismissed for 227 as England accumulated a huge first inning total of 620 for five declared.

Australia went into today’s final day on 238 for four with their last two recognised batsmen at the crease and 137 needed to make England bat again.

Their main hope of forcing a draw was the weather with heavy storms forecast. Rain stopped play for just under an hour in the third session yesterday.

Swann, the world’s top-ranked spinner, took two wickets, including Ricky Ponting for nine following the Australian captain’s first ball duck in the first innings.

Pietersen then accounted for Clarke with his part-time off-spin.

England’s total was the third highest Test tally at the Adelaide Oval and their second best Ashes total in Australia.

Shane Watson and Simon Katich steered Australia safely through to lunch before off-spinner Swann struck after the break.

Katich (43), who had hobbled throughout his innings because of an Achilles’ injury and who is a major doubt for the third Test in Perth, got a faint edge which wicketkeeper Matt Prior snaffled.

“A couple of hours of rain will help our cause but we’ve got try and hang in there as long as we can,” said Hussey.

“Certainly, if we can draw the match, England will see that as a loss and that will be driving us.”