Australia seize control of third Ashes test

Ricky Ponting and Matthew Hayden scored half-centuries to help Australia seize control of the third Ashes test against England at the WACA yesterday. Ponting continued his insatiable run-feast with an unbeaten 57 and Hayden posted his best score of the...

Ricky Ponting and Matthew Hayden scored half-centuries to help Australia seize control of the third Ashes test against England at the WACA yesterday.

Ponting continued his insatiable run-feast with an unbeaten 57 and Hayden posted his best score of the series to reach the close on day two also on 57 not out with Australia on 119 for one in their second innings, 148 runs ahead.

Seamer Matthew Hoggard bowled Justin Langer with the first ball of the Australian innings but England's joy was short-lived as Ponting and Hayden's unbroken partnership lifted Australia further after they had bowled England out for 215.

England, needing to win or draw the match to keep the series alive, started the day in a strong position at 51 for two in reply to Australia's modest first-innings total of 244.

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.