One unfortunate incident aside, a player touted as a future captain of Australia emerged as the shining light at the 'Gabba on an intriguing day two of the Pura Cup match between the Queensland Bulls and the Western Warriors. With a magnificent innings of 101, Simon Katich not only continued a run of great personal form against Queensland but also succeeded in saving significant face for the Warriors, helping to haul back a massive first innings deficit of 140 runs and propelling them into a potentially handy lead at the mark of 7/253 by stumps.

The highly rated left hander has now accumulated the remarkable tally of 570 runs at an average of sixty-five upon the usually bowler-friendly 'Gabba strip. This record now also includes the impressive statistic of three centuries in the space of just four matches.

When Katich walked to the wicket late in the first session today, his team was in enormous trouble. In some ways, it still is. But the predicament would have been substantially more dire without his compilation of a highly sophisticated century.

Katich assembled an innings of high control and high quality, dispensing with all the Bulls bowlers that were arraigned before him. It started from just the second ball of the Western Australian innings - opener Mike Hussey (0) having succumbed to a contentious caught behind decision from the first - but it represented little inconvenience. Even first innings hero Joe Dawes (2/73) looked a shadow of the bowler who had played the starring role as Western Australia was skittled for the dismal first innings total of 78 yesterday.

The young left hander's innings included sixteen boundaries and a number of beautiful drives before it was all finally ended by a sensational catch from Andrew Symonds shortly after tea. Katich unleashed a cracking off drive and had many of the members of the crowd looking to the extra cover boundary in an attempt to locate the ball before they realised that fielding dynamo Symonds, standing in the covers, was triumphantly holding up the ball instead.

Then came an interesting few moments. Katich, naturally disappointed with the manner of his dismissal, appeared to be on the receiving end of a stream of abuse from a section of the small 'Gabba crowd as he headed from the field. In turn, this produced a rarely-seen public outburst from a first-class cricketer. Katich seemed to gesture back to his detractors and the general consensus was that he had indicated to them that he would like to return the favour in a less public arena. It was unclear tonight if any disciplinary action would be taken against him.

When the Bulls finally dismissed the gifted left hander, there was a sense that the game could finish quickly. However, tailenders Mark Walsh (28*) and Matthew Nicholson (27*) had other ideas. Like not only Katich but also Tom Moody (32) and Murray Goodwin (31) before them, they battled away doggedly against an attack that had tightened its line well by the end of the day. The pair had added an unbroken forty-five runs for the eighth wicket by the time that stumps were finally drawn.

Earlier, two quick strikes from Brendon Julian (3/59) helped the visitors restrict Queensland to a final first innings total of 218. Martin Love (71) had shaped as the key to a big extension of the Bulls' lead but fell to a great diving catch by Moody after adding a mere eight runs to his overnight score. A valuable last wicket partnership of twenty-five for the final wicket between Dawes (18) and Scott O'Leary (6*) did add some annoyance but, in the end, the Warriors were probably thankful to escape with a deficit that did not extend, as Katich was to prove, to completely unmanageable proportions.

But the task ahead of the Western Australians still appears a tough one. It seems that they might, in the morning, require some more of the sturdy resistance that governed the play of their middle order if they are able to conjure up a lead of sufficient size to place the Bulls under pressure.

Whatever the case, we might well be in for another interesting instalment in this never-dull match tomorrow.

© 2001 CricInfo Ltd