Himilton: Opener Simon Katich notched his 10th test century as he and fellow 50-test veteran Michael Hussey batted Australia into a strong position on day three of the second cricket test against New Zealand in Hamilton today.
Katich reached his century just before tea with a cover driven four off Chris Martin as Australia moved to 242 for two in their second innings at the break, an overall lead of 209.
Katich, 103 not out, and Hussey, 66 not out, added an unbroken 151 for the third wicket as New Zealand toiled without success in the middle session, their chances of a first test victory over Australia since 1993 gradually slipping away.
The second new ball couldn't budge the Australian pair before the break, via eight overs from Martin and Brent Arnel.
After five scores of between 80 and 99 in his past 12 test innings, Katich's century came up in 323 minutes off 262 balls, including 12 fours.
Hussey had batted 202 minutes and faced 105 balls at tea.
Captain Daniel Vettori used six bowlers in the session, with Mathew Sinclair given his first bowl in a test for nine years, but there were few anxious moments for the batsmen on a slow pitch offering few terrors.
Tim Southee, who removed Shane Watson and Ricky Ponting earlier in the day, was only used sparingly and had figures of two for 57 off 14 overs.
Vettori bowled 24 wicketless overs for 57 and left the field for 25 minutes before tea, while fellow spinner Jeetan Patel was a generally accurate foil, conceding 54 off 23.
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