Alec Stewart must have been cursing his luck when the coin came down tails. This was the third time in a row he'd lost the toss and with temperature already 42 degrees it was going to be a trial by heat. England had surprised with their selections leaving out Alex Tudor who performed so well in Perth and including off-spinner Peter Such ahead of Robert Croft. The treatment of Tudor could be likened to the way they handled Devon Malcolm, who they only seemed to pick on bouncier surfaces like the Oval. Tudor showed enough at the WACA to deserve another go and his omission smacked of pigeon holing the tall young pace bowler. Surely he needs to be given the opportunity to prove whether he is a good bowler on all surfaces or just ones with a bit of bounce.

England started badly by continuing with their poor fielding. Both Taylor and Michael Slater were dropped, the latter not costing a run as Dean Headley found the edge just a few balls after Mark Ramprakash grassed a straightforward catch at point. On the other hand Taylor capitalised on Graeme Hick's blunder at second slip, as he and an aggressive Justin Langer increased the run flow after lunch as the heat hit England. The partnership passed the century mark, but Peter Such suddenly found the right recipe for the Adelaide Oval -- flight the ball and make the batsmen try and drive. He did this a couple of times and when Taylor didn't successfully pierce the field he attempted to cut the arm ball and the edge resulted in a sharp chance to Nasser Hussain at slip. This was an important breakthrough as the too left-handers were starting to dominate.

Mark Waugh arrived to a mixed reception, although one that was based on party lines --the Australians in the crowd clapped and the Englishmen booed. The elegant right-hander was obviously disturbed by the controversy he was embroiled in and he was further unsettled by a fiery spell from Darren Gough. It was noticeable the previous day that Waugh was peeved when reporters tried to `door-stop' him on the way to practice, proving that it had been a blunder not to answer questions at the so-called `press conference'. He can expect more of this treatment until both he and Shane Warne put themselves up for questioning.

However, it wasn't Gough whose luck continues to desert him, who got rid of Waugh, but the fast improving Such. Once again he flighted the ball which landed in a little rough and turned enough to cause a return catch. In an excellent spell of twelve overs, Such had claimed two vital wickets in the session and saved England a lot of leather chasing.

As the match ebbed and flowed Langer remained solid at one end. He battled the heat, threatening leg cramps and eventually had just enough energy left to leap into the air as he completed a single to give him his first Test ton in Australia. It's not surprising that Langer survived such a tough ordeal, as he possesses a black belt in one of the martial arts. He was once invited by an opposing interstate fast bowler to continue an on-field verbal joust `behind the pavilion after stumps' and replied, ``I'd like that.'' By the end of a long hard, but extremely rewarding day, he was probably as thankful for the mental as much as the physical benefits of his training as he relentlessly drove himself past the magical three figures and then willed his mind to hang on until stumps.

He had an equally determined partner in the last session, as he and Steve Waugh passed the century partnership and just when it looked like they would remain to further torture England, Gough produced a beauty. That wicket wasn't quite enough to balance the scales, but it made certain that Australia hadn't taken all the honours after having the good fortune to win the toss on such a stinking hot day.

SCOREBOARD

Australia (1st innings): M Slater c Stewart b Headley 17, M Taylor c Hussain b Such 59, J Langer batting 108, M Waugh c & b Such 7, S Waugh c Hick b Gough 59, R Ponting batting 0. Extras (5lb, 11nb): 16.

Total (for 4 wickets): 266

Fall of wickets: 1-28, 2-140, 3-156, 4-264.

Bowling:

Gough 20-2-74-1 (5<\!q>nb), Mullally 20-5-39-0, Headley 14-0-64-1 (5nb), Such 27-7-57-2 (1nb), Ramprakash 9-1-27-0.