Adelaide: Ricky Ponting's 154 against England in the second Ashes Test on Saturday was not one of his vintage centuries but it continued a golden run of form.

The national One-day skipper top-scored in Australia's first innings of 552 for nine declared, his third century in three Tests, and his fifth in his past seven matches.

But he said he was far from content with the way he was striking the ball. "It certainly is very satisfying coming off having made 150, but I still wasn't over the moon with the way I hit the ball," Ponting said after Saturday's third day's play at the Adelaide Oval.

"I probably didn't hit the ball that well this game, there were a lot of mishit shots and things, but I occupied the crease and it was probably that sort of wicket where it was hard to time every ball and hit the ball in the middle of the bat all the time."

Statistically, Ponting is in the prime of his career, having bumped up his average to 49.31 from a career low of 33.00 with his string of prolific scoring in recent months.

His innings here was as much a testament to patience as talent, taking almost six hours and including only nine boundaries, many of his runs coming from nudged ones and twos square of the wicket on both sides.

But he said Saturday's performance, while less commanding than some of his previous centuries, was still satisfying. "It's always nice to score a Test match hundred, especially in an Ashes series, so I was very happy but it was a lot of hard work, even with the mistimed shots that went into it," he said.

"So it wasn't the best innings I've played, but the end result was pretty good."

Copyright AFP 2001

Extras:
Australia poised for another big victory over England