Gilchrist needed to face only one more ball after tea to go to 200, pulling Jacques Kallis down to fine leg for his 19th four. He had faced 212 balls at that stage, eclipsing the previous record of 220 held by Ian Botham against India at the Oval in 1982.

Gilchrist made only one more before the declaration came with Australia two short of the highest total recorded against South Africa - 654 for five by England during the Timeless Test in Durban in 1938/39.

Gilchrist finished on 204 not out, becoming the fifth wicketkeeper to make a Test double century, with Brett Lee, on 4, the other not out batsman.

Gilchrist and Damien Martyn put on 317 for the sixth wicket as Australia reached a record 643 for seven against South Africa at tea, but so total was the dominance of the visiting team that a good deal of attention during the afternoon was focussed on Gilchrist’s attempts to hit an advertising billboard next to the giant scoreboard. Had he done so, he would have won a solid gold bar, worth R1.3-million at the current gold price.

Gilchrist and Martyn also would have had in their sights the 346 made by Jack Fingleton and Don Bradman against England in Melbourne in 1936/37, but this record eluded them when Martyn was eventually caught at third man by Gary Kirsten off Jacques Kallis for 133.

The wicket fell at 610 for six, but both before and after Martyn’s departure Gilchrist took centre stage. With no sign yet of a declaration, Gilchrist was not out on 199 at tea, needing only one more run to become the fifth wicketkeeper to make a Test double century. He has faced 211 balls so far and if he scores his single within his next eight deliveries, he will become the fastest double centurion in Test cricket recorded by balls faced. Ian Botham took 220 balls for 200 against India at the Oval in 1982.

He has hit 18 fours and eight sixes so far, the sixth of which was hit off Neil McKenzie and sailed agonisingly close to the million rand billboard. There is no question that Gilchrist knew the possible value of his shot. He clasped his head to his head as the ball flew just over the advertisment and even his counterpart, Mark Boucher, appeared to sympathise with the near miss.

More prosaically, Australia scored 190 in the session for the wickets of Martyn and Shane Warne, who was out to the last ball before tea trying to give Gilchrist the strike.

After the hundreds by Matthew Hayden on the first day and Adam Gilchrist on the second morning, Martyn went to three figures as he unleashed his full array of shots after lunch. Martyn’s first 50 had been scored off 130 deliveries, but he took only a further 37 for the second as he stepped up the tempo markedly.

South Africa simply had no answer to Australia’s dominance and the closest the home team came to taking a wicket came in the fifth over after lunch when Gilchrist, then 113, got a leading edge off Makhaya Ntini which looped over the head of Boeta Dippenaar at mid on. Dippenaar scrambled frantically backwards and got his hands to the ball as it dropped but could not hold on.

South Africa were eventually forced to turn to the gentle medium pacers of Neil McKenzie for some variety. Gilchrist brought up the 200 partnership with a single off McKenzie and the Australian 500 came up in the 126th over of the innings.

Martyn finally went to three figures with successive boundaries off Ntini. He had batted for 250 minutes at that stage, facing 167 balls and had struck 13 fours.

At drinks Martyn was on 119 with Gilchrist, who had gone relatively quiet after lunch, on 129.

Gilchrist, dropped by Jacques Kallis at slip on 35, raced to the second century of the innings as he and Damien Martyn put a depleted South African attack to the sword.

After a relatively quiet first hour, the Australian sixth-wicket pair opened up as lunch approached and by the interval the partnership was worth 160 with more promising to come in the afternoon as South Africa battled on without the services of Allan Donald who broke down with a hamstring strain on Friday.

Gilchrist was in increasingly imperious mood after reaching his 50 after 119 minutes at the crease. He took only a further 41 minutes to go to his hundred, hitting left-arm spinner three times for six and reach three figures with his 12th four, tucked wide of mid-on off Makhaya Ntini.

South Africa were simply unable to stem the flow of runs with Martyn, who had been content to play second fiddle, also opening up as he went to his 50 with a cover drive for four off Kallis, pulled the next delivery for another boundary and then took a two off the South African medium pacer.

At one point 40 had been taken off five overs from Boje and Kallis and in all Australia scored 122 in the session. Gilchrist had 101 at the interval with Martyn on 62.

The South Africans, whose senior fast bowler Allan Donald broke down with a hamstring strain on Friday, might have thought that very little more could go wrong for them, but in the ninth over of the day Jacques Kallis, standing at second slip, spilled a chance from Adam Gilchrist, low and hard to his right hand, off Andre Nel.

On Friday Kallis dropped Matthew Hayden on 0 with the Australian opener going on to make 122.

Gilchrist had 35 when he was given his life and he and Damien Martyn were able to continue building one of the partnerships that have been the feature of this innings.

Martyn rubbed salt in Nel’s wounds in the fast bowler’s next over, taking three fours off him, but the batsman was fortunate on 41 when a leading edge off Makhaya Ntini dropped into pace in front of mid-on.

At drinks Martyn had 41 with Gilchrist on 46 and the partnership was now worth 80.