Ambrose in a hurry

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The Warwickshire wicketkeeper finished unbeaten on 97 having dominated a 155-run partnership with Paul Collingwood which guided the tourists to a comfortable 291 for five after being put in on the opening day at the Basin Reserve.

"I wanted to get the hundred, not just for myself but for the crowd, who had been brilliant for the whole of the last session - I really wanted to finish the day off on a high," said Ambrose.

Ambrose, playing only his second Test match, looked certain to complete an eventful opening day by reaching his first century at this level but was unable to claim the boundary required in the final over and played out a maiden to all-rounder Jacob Oram.

It left him just short of the milestone and Ambrose revealed: "I wanted to get myself in the right frame of mind for the last over.

"I thought I might get one ball in the over that was short and wide and I could get my hands on it. He did give me one, but I'm afraid I got a bit too excited and tried to hit the ball a little bit too hard."

Ambrose hit 15 fours and two sixes during his 160 minutes at the crease and turned around the day for England, who had lost five wickets in 23 overs immediately after lunch.

The tourists had looked on course for a major total after the disappointment of their 189-run first Test defeat, with openers Michael Vaughan and Alastair Cook forging a 79-run stand.

But once again the top order failed to fire to leave England reeling on 136 for five when Ambrose walked to the crease.

"It was a funny day that seemed to work in thirds," conceded Oram, who finished with impressive figures of 22-10-25-2. "They dominated the first session, we had the second session and the last one was all theirs. They played positively, they took the game to us and maybe we just didn't handle the pressure they were putting on us."