CRICKET: Patiently, skilfully and with immaculate placement and timing, Ricky Ponting laid down the building blocks of the Australian reply yesterday. Mike Selvey  reports.

Ponting had, by a distance, made the best hundred of the three scored in the first Test in Brisbane and in a shade under three hours, on another glorious Adelaide day, he batted himself to within 17 runs of another on the second day of the second Test.

Australia closed on 247 for two, 95 behind England who, with utter predictability, subsided from their sturdy overnight position to 342 all out, thanks to brilliant bowling from Jason Gillespie, who took four for 10 in the morning, and some easy pickings for Shane Warne, who has not been close to his best but still bamboozled the lower order and finished with four for 93. The last seven England wickets fell for 47 runs.

The loss of Michael Vaughan in the final over of the first day proved, as was feared, crucial and the Yorkshire opener spent the entire Australian innings off the field, having had what proved an inconclusive X-ray on his right shoulder that was struck by Gillespie during his epic 177.

By the time Steve Bucknor and Rudi Koertzen pulled up the stumps for the day, Ponting had hit only three boundaries, but there was no need for more: a sense of awareness kept him moving and such are the vagaries of this ground, with short boundaries to either side and the longest straight hits in the world, that there are runs to be run as well. This is a very good, versatile batsman.

Ponting had by then added an unbroken 133 for the third wicket with Damien Martyn, whose 48 was a less sturdy affair, containing as it did reprieves on 18 and, shortly before stumps, on 37 when Alec Stewart dropped chances off Richard Dawson and Steve Harmison respectively.

Earlier, and just as predictably as the England batting demise, Matthew Hayden and Justin Langer put on their seventh century opening stand in 23 goes before Hayden's arrogance got the better of him and Langer received the right decision for the wrong reason from Bucknor.

With the pitch still playing extremely well when the Australian innings started, England needed to have all cylinders firing to make inroads into the home batsmen. But Andy Caddick disappeared at the rate of a run a ball (and then retired for a while with a back spasm) and Matthew Hoggard provided his habitual kick-start to the innings.

The catching, from both sides, has lacked inspiration in both matches, especially in the half-chances that can change the course of a game when snaffled. In addition to those offered to Stewart, Mark Butcher might on a good day have caught Hayden at backward point off Harmison's third ball, when the left-hander had 22, but he fingertipped it instead, and Caddick ought to have made a better fist of the return catch offered by the same batsman in the following over.

Hayden, sensing perhaps that this once more was going to be his day, began to unleash a range of strokes of immense power, pulling Harmison for four and then, with utter certainty, over the square boundary for six. His mighty heave at Craig White, if connected properly, would have sent the ball into that river, but instead Caddick sweated beneath the skyer at mid-off before accepting it and Hayden was out for 46. Langer hit seven fours in his 48, punching above his weight, before he too was out in strange circumstances.

Dawson, whose offspin was generally commendable, with nice drift away from the right-hander and a hint of bite, opted to go round the wicket and Langer, sensing a short one, tried to cut. The ball was too close, beat the bat on the inside and Stewart claimed a catch. Bucknor's consideration gave Dawson his wicket and Langer walked off shaking his head.

The replays indicated that the ball had indeed hit Langer's pad rather than bat, but the technology, as far as it can be believed, further showed that the ball had pitched on the line of off-stump and would have hit it. So, one way or the other, caught or lbw, Langer was out.

Earlier, with the new ball 10 overs old, it took Australia only 26 more overs to wrap up the England innings. Butcher failed to add to his score before he was caught at the wicket and thereafter only Stewart reached double figures.

There is little to be done about the performance of a tail that has Dawson, who has scarcely batted against anyone, never mind Australia, at number eight.

Guardian Service

Scoreboard: Day Two

ENGLAND - First innings ctd (295-4 overnight)

M Butcher c Gilchrist b Gillespie 22

A Stewart lbw b Gillespie 29

C White c Bichel b Gillespie 1

R Dawson lbw b Warne 6

A Caddick b Warne 0

M Hoggard c Gilchrist b Gillespie 6

S Harmison not out 3

Extras (lb7, nb8) 15

Total 342

Fall of wickets: 1-88, 2-106, 3-246, 4-295, 5-295, 6-308, 7-325, 8-325, 9-337, 10-342

Bowling: McGrath 30-11-77-1 (2nb), Gillespie 26.5-8-78-4, Bichel 20-2-78-1 (4nb), Warne 34-10-93-4 (2nb), Waugh 5-1-9-0.

AUSTRALIA - First innings

J Langer c Stewart b Dawson 48

M Hayden c Caddick b White 46

R Ponting not out 83

D Martyn not out 48

Extras (lb4, w6, nb8) 22

Total (2 wkts) 247

Fall of wickets: 1-101, 2-114

Bowling: Caddick 7-0-40-0 (2nb 6w), Hoggard 4-0-20-0, Harmison 6-2-23-0 (3nb), White 5-1-18-1 (3nb), Dawson 5-1-20-1.

Umpires: S Bucknor (WI), R Koertzen (Rsa).