Ponting century puts Australia in command

Ricky Ponting completed his 32nd test hundred as Australia dominated the opening day of the first Ashes test against England at the Gabba in Brisbane yesterday. The Australian captain batted magnificently to reach the close unbeaten on 137 with Mike...

Ricky Ponting completed his 32nd test hundred as Australia dominated the opening day of the first Ashes test against England at the Gabba in Brisbane yesterday.

The Australian captain batted magnificently to reach the close unbeaten on 137 with Mike Hussey on 63 and the world champions in cruise control at 346 for three.

Justin Langer got the Australians off to a perfect start when he blazed a quick 82. Matthew Hayden made 21 and Damien Martyn 29.

England captain Andrew Flintoff captured the wickets of Langer and Hayden while left-arm spinner Ashley Giles dismissed Martyn.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.