Every good score Ricky Ponting makes at No. 3 is a major step forward for the Australian team. Australia badly needsPonting to succeed at this, his second go at the pivotal batting position. Perhaps more than most countries, Australia has always viewed No. 3 as the premier batting spot, a prestigious position ideal for a team leader. Don Bradman made it his own as only he could and a few decades later Ian Chappell completed the connection between captaincy and the No. 3 spot. If he is versatile enough, No. 3 can set the pattern for any innings. Continue an attack begun by the openers, as Ponting has done here, or fight with his back to the wall as Chappell did so often. In those days it was almost a good sign when one of the openers went cheaply as that meant Chappell would have to come to the crease under pressure, with his collar and his dander up. A hundred from the skipper was just about guaranteed.

Because it can be such an influential position it is ideal for a captain. And although Adam Gilchrist may have the vice-captaincy at present, Ponting is still a very good chance to become captain one day. In the offices of the Australian Cricket Board there is still some concern that the burdens of captaincy, wicketkeeping and batting, as an opener in one-day matches, will prove too heavy a burden for Gilchrist. If that concern is converted into a move away from Gilchrist then Ponting will be the man to take over.

Chappell himself has always fancied Ponting as a future captain. He has a sharp cricket brain and, much to Chappell's liking, is a natural-born punter. Although gambling is rightly a no-no in the modern game, Chappell believes that the best captains are natural risk-takers, leaders capable of quickly weighing up the probabilities a few dozen times a day and making the right decisions in the majority of cases. And, captaincy issues aside, there is one more reason why it would suit everyone in Australian cricket if Ponting continues to flourish at No. 3. He is a wonderful batsman to watch, fast on his feet with a full range of shots. His major weakness to date has been against spin, and the fact that he made a big hundred against a bowling attack led by an in-form Daniel Vettori bodes well.

Mark Ray has covered Australian cricket since 1987 and is also the author of a number of books on the game.

Day 1 Verdict: Already out of sight

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