BRETT LEE insisted Australia were determined to inflict an Ashes whitewash on England this summer as they closed in on victory in the first Test at Lord's.
And the Australian paceman had a chilling message for England's batsmen by predicting spin legend Shane Warne was "bowling the best he has ever bowled".
England were cruising along at 80-0 in pursuit of a 420 target - the highest total to win a Test - but then Lee and Warne wrecked their hopes with five wickets for 39 runs in 14 overs of mayhem.
"It always seems that whenever someone seems to write Shane Warne off, he always comes back bigger and better," Lee said.
"It's very hard to keep a true champion down. Shane has taken over 580 wickets in Tests, he is the world's best and his presence at the crease is fantastic.
"That's why he is a champion and he is definitely bowling the best he ever has. He is getting better with age.
"The batsmen appreciate they are playing the world's best leg-spinner and there is a lot of pressure out there as well. Shane is bowling tight lines and he is bowling the best way that Shane can bowl.
"What we have been trying to do is bowl in partnerships and we have done that very well."
Warne himself agreed with his bowling partner's assessment, saying: "I had a pretty good rhythm, but we bowled well in partnerships.
"England got off to a good start, but the quicks bowled in good areas. I thought I had a couple of close lbw shouts, but I wanted to stay patient.
"I'd much rather be in our position than theirs."
Lee added: "We have come here to try and win 5-0.
"There is no point coming over here to try and win 3-2 or get a loss here and there. We want to win every single match we play, but we know to do that is going to take a lot of hard, competitive cricket.
"This first Test is probably the most important one and is going to set up the whole series."
Lee believes Australia still have some hard work to do before they can start celebrating, saying: "We've been very happy with the way the game has progressed over the last day or so.
"But we have got five more wickets to get and we know that Kevin Pietersen is a class act.
"But full credit to the way the guys have fought back."
Marcus Trescothick admitted England have a mountain to climb if they are to salvage anything from the match.
"We are disappointed," he said.
"It is not an ideal situation to be in. We are obviously on the back foot big time, but you've still got to cling to the hope.
"You can only hope we can salvage something. You can only keep working, otherwise we might as well give in now."
Trescothick conceded there were no excuses for England's poor fielding but is adamant morale will not crumble.