Australian opening batsman Justin Langer smashed a century on Saturday and warned England he's ready for an Ashes onslaught this summer.
Langer hit 115, skipper Ricky Ponting, 119, and Damien Martyn a breathtaking unbeaten 154 as Australia piled-up 582 for seven in reply to Leicestershire's 217 all out on the second day of their three-day tour match at Grace Road.
"It was a superb team performance," said Langer. "To score that many runs in a day and to have bowled so well on Friday is a very good start to our Ashes campaign.
"That is what these games are about, and it has been a perfect preparation so far." Langer does not figure in his country's one-day plans and, as a result, had not played on the tour until Saturday.
But he showed little sign of ring rustiness agianst Leicestershire as the Australians looked in fine form ahead of the first Test which begins at Lord's on Thursday.
"I have been waiting a long time to start playing cricket again, and it is always nice to get in the habit early of making runs. I hope that can continue," he said.
Langer was first to three figures on Saturday and his achievement was the most significant, given that he not batted for more than three months.
Fast bowler Brett Lee and Langer's first-wicket partner Matthew Hayden both demonstrated their readiness for the start of the Ashes with encouraging individual performances on Friday.
Langer began on Saturday morning with 71 to his name out of 169 in company with Ponting.
There was a notable determination about Langer, whose only false shot can when he reached at a wide and full ball from Ottis Gibson to toe-end his 14th boundary between wicketkeeper and slip as he went from 95 to 99. It was therefore a surprise when he mistimed an attempted hit over the top at John Maunders and fell to a steepling catch at mid-off to give the medium-pacer a career-best three-wicket haul.
The Australians were satisfied with quiet domination until a hurry-up plan appeared to be hatched at mid-afternoon drinks.
It involved targeting their compatriot Jason Krejza's off-spin, off which Ponting reached his hundred with successive straight sixes. Martyn did not have much truck with the nervous 90s either, and his was the quickest of the three centuries - coming off 127 balls and featuring 10 boundaries.
Ponting mixed in a decent helping of his trademark on-drives until he lost his off-stump to Otis Gibson who had taken the second new ball just before tea and managed to end a stand of 201 in 41 overs.
Simon Katich also failed to keep off-stump intact in the next over, falling for only four.
Martyn ploughed on as Australia resisted a declaration and teenager Stuart Broad - son of old Australia adversary Chris - picked up the notable wicket of Adam Gilchrist, another to lose his off-stump, and then Lee too as reward for being the pick of an over-faced home attack. Even so, neither Broad nor anyone else could change the fact that Australia have this match at their mercy - with the likes of Lee, Michael Kasprowicz and Jason Gillespie still eager to impress on the final day on Sunday as they jostle for places in the team to face England.
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