Langer signalled his intentions off the second ball of the innings, driving Makhaya Ntini through the covers for four and he underlined the point by slicing the fourth ball backward of point for another boundary. The addition of two leg byes meant Australia had got off to a rollicking start with 10 off the over.

Langer was given a fright when, in response to an lbw appeal from Ntini, umpire Rudi Koertzen seemed to raise his finger. Koertzen checked himself, though, making it clear he had meant only to indicate that the ball would have missed off stump.

Langer’s partner Matthew Hayden had watched all this from the other end, scoring only one run to Langer’s first 29, and his first boundary came by way of a Chinese cut off Dewald Pretorius. He pulled another four off Pretorius later in the over and with Langer having helped himself to three boundaries in Pretorius’ previous over, the South African opener had conceded five fours in 11 deliveries.

Langer had a second scare on 36 when Hayden sent him back to the bowler’send. With Langer scrambling in mid-pitch, Ntini was off balance as he threw and although a direct hit would have run Langer out by at least a metre, the throw missed.

The Australian 50 came up in the 12th over of the innings as Paul Adams replaced Pretorius and when drinks were taken after 13 overs, Langer had 36 with Hayden on 13.

Last man out was Dewald Pretorius for a duck, caught at slip by Mark Waugh to give Shane Warne the remarkable figures of 70-15-161-6.

The dismissal of Pretorius followed those of Neil McKenzie and Makhaya Ntini as the South African fightback finally ran out of steam. McKenzie was cruelly robbed of his third Test hundred by a brilliant piece of fielding from Damien Martyn.

Needing just a single to reach three figures, McKenzie tapped Brett Lee into the covers and called Paul Adams for the run. Martyn lunged to his right to effect the stop and, while still on his knees, threw down the stumps at the bowler’s end to leave McKenzie short of his ground.

McKenzie’s 99 had taken him 306 minutes and included 14 boundaries as he became the eighth man out at 440.

Ntini was caught at deep midwicket by Justin Langer for 11 to give Warne his fifth wicket of the innings while Paul Adams helped himself to a couple of sixes in his unbeaten 23 before the innings closed.

Last man out was Dewald Pretorius for a duck, caught at slip by Mark Waugh to give Shane Warne the remarkable figures of 70-15-161-6.

The dismissal of Pretorius followed those of Neil McKenzie and Makhaya Ntini as the South African fightback finally ran out of steam. McKenzie was cruelly robbed of his third Test hundred by a brilliant piece of fielding from Damien Martyn.

Needing just a single to reach three figures, McKenzie tapped Brett Lee into the covers and called Paul Adams for the run. Martyn lunged to his right to effect the stop and, while still on his knees, threw down the stumps at the bowler’s end to leave McKenzie short of his ground.

McKenzie’s 99 had taken him 306 minutes and included 14 boundaries as he became the eighth man out at 440.

Ntini was caught at deep midwicket by Justin Langer for 11 to give Warne his fifth wicket of the innings while Paul Adams helped himself to a couple of sixes in his unbeaten 23 before the innings closed.

Australia struck twice in the hour after lunch when Jason Gillespie trapped Mark Boucher lbw on the crease with a delivery that kept on coming back into the right-hander. The South African captain had made 37 as he shared an 81-run partnership for the sixth wicket with McKenzie. It was the fifth stand worth 50 or more to South Africa in the innings.

The seventh wicket yielded only two runs, however, with Andrew Hall, who made 70 in his debut innings, run out without scoring as he was slow to return to the bowler’s end for a second run. Brett Lee’s pickup and throw to Gillespie was too sharp for the batsman.

At drinks McKenzie was 97 with Paul Adams still to open his account.

The South Africans lost their fifth wicket shortly after the midmorning drinks break when Shane Warne accounted for Ashwell Prince, but captain Mark Boucher joined McKenzie to build yet another of the partnerships that have characterised the South African second innings.

Prince was snapped up at silly point by Ricky Ponting for 20 as he pushed forward to Warne with South Africa at 350 for five. Prince had helped McKenzie add 66 for the fifth wicket, the fourth 50-run partnership of the innings.

McKenzie then moved to his 50 with a leg glance for four off Glenn McGrath after batting for six minutes more than three hours and when Brett Lee replaced McGrath, McKenzie pulled him and glanced him for successive boundaries.

The 50 partnership and the South African 400 came up in the lunch over when Boucher drove Lee through the covers for four and Boucher helped himself to another boundary off the last ball of the session when he steered Lee through the gully.

At the interval McKenzie had moved to 84 with Boucher on 21.

Warne, meanwhile, had bowled 56 overs for his four for 133, the most overs he has ever bowled in a single innings. South Africa had scored exactly 100 off 30 overs during the morning session.

It was relatively slow progress after South Africa had begun the day at 307 for four, but with the home side intent on setting Australia a challenging fourth innings target, survival through the early part of the day was clearly the priority.

Prince fashioned the first boundary of the day in the fourth over when he punched Jason Gillespie through the covers and in Gillespie’s next over McKenzie drove the fast bowler straight for four before a thick edge through the gully gave him a second boundary in the same over.

Shane Warne started the day bowling from the Kelvin Grove end with the pitch offering increasing turn to the legspinner. Prince survived a vociferous lbw appeal on 15 when he padded up to Warne before McKenzie brought up the 50 partnership when he put Glenn McGrath away through the covers after McGrath had replaced Gillespie.

Warne gave McKenzie an anxious moment with an unplayable ball that pitched outside leg and spun sharply enough to beat both off stump and wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist before running away for four byes.

At the drinks break McKenzie had 43 with Prince on 20.