Aussies turn the screws as England is set 561 for victory Valuable runs ... Brad Haddin scored a second half century for the match. England should have known better than to treat Michael Clarke like a bunny. Early breakthrough ... Ryan Harris bowled Michael Carberry for a duck. Alastair Cook's tactics when Clarke came in to bat at the Gabba on Saturday backfired when the Australian captain survived his inevitable examination by Stuart Broad with the short ball and, with David Warner, carried his country to within sight of its first Test victory since January. Few of Clarke's 25 Test hundreds can have held such personal and collective significance as this sparkling 113. So keen was England to get at Clarke that Cook yanked third seamer Chris Tremlett out of the attack right after he had induced a rash shot from Shane Watson and replaced him with Broad, the bowler who had dismissed Clarke in six of his last eight hits. Then he pushed back the field to give the well-set Warner singles to get the Australian captain, a man with more than 7000 Test runs and a Gabba average of about 100, on strike. It didn't work. Milestone: David Warner celebrates after reaching 50 runs. Majestic centuries from Clarke and Warner drove home the advantage earned by the Mitchell Johnson-led bowling attack. After Clarke declared at 7-401, and Johnson and Ryan Harris bustled out two England batsmen before stumps, Australia was on the verge of a crushing victory with a lead of 537. Australia removed Michael Carberry and Jonathan Trott late in the day to leave the English teetering at 2-24. The victory target of 561 is well clear of the world record first innings runchase of 418, by the West Indies to roll Australia in Antigua more than a decade ago. It gave the local attack of Johnson, Ryan Harris, Peter Siddle and Nathan Lyon a bit over two days to bowl England out a second time provided the storms stayed away. The England attack, so full of bravado when Clarke walked to the crease with Jimmy Anderson leading the verbals from the gully, looked flat and short of options. Graeme Swann, despite picking up two wickets, was dismantled and conceded 2-225 for the match. Such a scenario seemed improbable two days earlier, when Clarke's method of ducking his head and fending with his gloves proved inadequate to deal with Broad's first bouncer at him, and he was caught at short leg for one amid the chaos of another Australian batting collapse. Former New Zealand captain Martin Crowe wrote in a column for Cricinfo that "Broad, more than anything or anyone, has imposed himself as the exposer of Clarke's slightly open wound. Yet, Clarke is the better cricketer. Contrasting fortunes: England's Stuart Broad celebrates the dismissal of Australia's Chris Rogers. He was also the brains behind England's dramatic first innings collapse, pulling the strings from beneath his white floppy hat, his aggressive field placings for instance hastening the demise of Jonathan Trott. But his biggest personal challenge was against Broad. In the first innings he took his eye off the bouncer and was pinner on the crease. Though "not a hooker by nature," this time he was positive from the outset. The bouncers were not as well directed, and Clarke got going with two decisively pulled boundaries in a row. Having conquered Broad, Clarke did what he does best against the spinners. He danced down the pitch to Swann, hitting him for six over mid on, then glided him behind point. Eventually, he was bowled trying to slog the off spinner but by then all that remained was for the lower order, again piloted by Brad Haddin and Mitchell Johnson, to plunder some more runs before the declaration. Haddin's 53 from 54 balls was his second half century in the match, while Johnson, Clarke's henchman with the ball, continued his confident strokeplay for an unbeaten 39. The day before the Ashes everyone wanted to know why Clarke was not his usual sunny self. Had he taken to heart suggestions he'd been too pleasant in defeat in England, and decided to be Captain Grumpy? Or was he just on edge as he prepared to defend Australia's proud record in Brisbane, and sick of the Ashes phoney war. Whatever the reason for his pre-match crankiness, the tension of the past few days and months melted away as put his team in a powerful position to seize a 1-nil Ashes lead. Poll: England needs 561 to win with more than two days to play. Did Michael Clarke get his declaration right? Total votes: 729. Poll closes in 4 hours. Vote now: Te Huna vs Shogun