Centurion Jaques leads the way

Playing in just his third Test match following Justin Langer's retirement, Jaques hit 14 fours in his 203-ball innings before he was stumped off the bowling of Muttiah Muralitharan for exactly 100.

Off-spinner Muralitharan finished the day with two for 67 and now needs seven wickets to overtake Shane Warne's world record of 708 dismissals in Test cricket.

A wet Brisbane outfield delayed the start of the game before the morning session was interrupted by further rain.

It proved heavy going when the teams returned to the field as Australia crawled to 22 without loss at lunch from 11 overs.

But it was a different story after the break as Matthew Hayden (43) in particular tore into the Sri Lanka attack.

However, the opener paid for his aggression when he came down the track looking to dispatch Chaminda Vaas over mid-off only to catch the ball high on his bat and Muralitharan pouched the chance on the run.

The loss of his partner did not seem to bother Jaques as the man from New South Wales pushed on to his second Test 50 off 125 balls.

He survived a scare on 60 when he was dropped at first slip by Mahela Jayawardene off Murali as Australia took the upper hand after two sessions.

The tourists did manage to mount something of a fightback in the evening session, though, with Muralitharan dismissing skipper Ricky Ponting (56) and centurion Jaques.