Mitchell Marsh scored his first century in his 22nd test and shared a rollicking stand with captain Steve Smith to put Australia in control of the third Ashes test against England at the WACA on Saturday.
Australia was 421 for four at tea on the third day, with Smith unbeaten on 182 and Marsh on 100, featuring in a 173-run stand for the fifth wicket. Australia resumed the day on 203 for three and leads by 18 runs after England scored 403 on its first innings.
Marsh, 26, smashed two boundaries in the space of three balls off paceman Stuart Broad to bring up his long-awaited century.
As the ball sped to the boundary, Marsh ran towards the team dressing room in celebration as his older brother, Shaun Marsh, rose with the rest of the crowd to applaud the feat.
England’s only success on an otherwise barren day came in the morning when Shaun Marsh was dismissed for 28 runs.
Marsh edged a Moeen Ali off-spinner that turned and bounced, allowing captain Joe Root to take a regulation catch at slip.
The in-form Smith continued to torment England with a majestic innings as he set his eyes on his second double century of his career.
Starting the day on 92, Smith brought up his seventh century in 23 Ashes tests, to add to his 141 in the series opener in Brisbane in Australia’s 10-wicket win.
Smith, 28, reached his 22nd test century when he flicked swing bowler James Anderson for his 16th boundary in the fifth over of the day.
A 59-test veteran, Smith reached 1,000 test runs for the fourth calendar year in a row.
Smith, the No.1 batsmen in the world, was at his supreme best, and batted untroubled as he took the fight to the England attack on a surface that continues to remain batsman-friendly.
Smith came to bat with Australia in trouble at 55-2 on the second afternoon, and counter-attacked in the company of Usman Khawaja (50) and Shaun Marsh, totally dominating the two partnerships before Marsh joined.
Australia leads the five-test series 2-0 after dominating wins in Brisbane and Adelaide and can clinch the series with a victory in Perth.