Vaughan led the way, surviving several dropped catches, as England reached 295 for three having won the toss at the Adelaide Oval.

But the Yorkshire opener edged Andy Bichel to first slip off what became the final ball of the first day.

"The crucial wicket of Vaughan got us going and on day two we really played good cricket," Waugh said.

The home side eventually ran up a first innings total of 552 for nine declared, 51 runs beyond the reach of England even after their second innings.

"We have a good record of first innings leads," said Waugh. "And we've got quality bowlers who can put the pressure on."

Rain caused three short delays on the fourth day, and with a downpour expected to continue through Monday, Australia only just got the job done in time.

"I was a bit worried with the rain coming and going; if England had hung on it could have been difficult," Waugh admitted.

Ricky Ponting received the man-of-the-match award for his 154 - a career high against Australia's Ashes rivals and his fifth century in the last seven Tests.

Waugh described the innings as a "phenomenal performance".

"Things are going really well," said Ponting. "I'm batting as well as I ever have in my Test career.

"We were outplayed on the first day but we bounced back well."

Despite a spectacular catch by Glenn McGrath that accounted for Vaughan for a second time on Sunday, Waugh admitted that dropped catches were something the team could improve on.

"The dropped catches were not the best but we made enough chances to win the game," he added.

"We haven't really talked about it but in the last five Tests we've dropped about 20 chances."