ADELAIDE (Australia), Dec 14: South Africa fought back after Justin Langer scored his fourth century in five Tests on Friday to help Australia reach 272 for six on the first day of the first Test.

Langer blasted his way to a hundred before tea but eventually fell for 116 as Australia finished the opening day at 272 for six after reaching 182-1 before tea.

The left-hander was well supported by Ricky Ponting, who scored a half-century despite suffering back pain, but the Waugh twins, Steve and Mark, made a combined total of just 10 runs in a disappointing start to their 100th Test together.

With their world championship trophy at stake, the Australians wasted little time trying to stamp their authority on the opening match of the three-game series only to be foiled by the South Africans late in the day.

Steve Waugh won the toss and immediately sent his openers in on a typically flat Adelaide Oval pitch tailor-made for batting and they responded by belting 61 in the first hour of play.

The run spree stalled just before lunch with the total on 80 when Hayden went for 31, misreading a slower ball from Lance Klusener and spooning the easiest of catches to Makhaya Ntini at mid-off.

Langer and Ponting accelerated again after lunch, sharing a 102-run stand full of risk and entertainment.

Ponting strained his back during the morning warm-up but did not allow his obvious discomfort to restrict his cavalier approach to the game.

He had a let-off on six when Gary Kirsten spilled a waist-high chance at third slip and another escape on 28 when he was caught by Boeta Dippenaar at mid-wicket off a Shaun Pollock no-ball.

But Ponting, who averaged 83 in the recent series with New Zealand, was in no mood to reflect on his good fortune, racing to 50 off 78 balls before his luck deserted him on 54 and he was run out attempting a suicidal single.

Langer was also in an aggressive frame of mind, belting 15 boundaries and a six during his 5-1/2 hour innings.

A former number three batsman, Langer’s Test career looked over when he was dropped for the Ashes series against England only to be given a second chance as an opener in the final match at the Oval.

The 31-year-old made the most of his recall, blasting an unbeaten hundred against a pedestrian England attack then followed up with back-to-back centuries in this season’s first two Tests against New Zealand.

He missed a fourth consecutive hundred in the third and final Test against the New Zealanders but made it four from five with his century against South Africa on Friday.

Langer celebrated reaching triple figures before lunch in the most dramatic way, hoisting left-arm spinner Claude Henderson over the fence for six.

He was eventually in the final session when Henderson caught the shoulder of his bat and Pollock held a sharp chance at slip.

Mark Waugh, who scored a century on debut at Adelaide Oval a decade ago when he was promoted to the Test team at the expense of his twin brother, managed just two when he edged a catch to wicketkeeper Mark Boucher off express paceman Mornantau Hayward.

Steve fared little better, compiling just eight runs, when he was unluckily given out, caught by Neil McKenzie at bat-pad off Henderson.

Waugh stood his ground while the South Africans appealed and was preparing to take strike again when he was told Indian umpire Srinivas Venkataraghavan had given him out. Television replays later suggested he had not hit the ball.

Australia’s vice-captain Adam Gilchrist went cheaply for seven in the final hour before play, also falling to Henderson who finished the day with 3-56.

The Proteas fought back gamely, taking five for 66 to reduce the Australians to 248-6, before Damien Martyn and Shane Warne steadied the innings with an unbroken 24-run stand with Martyn reaching 36 and Warne seven.