Malan 'over the moon' with first Test century

Perth, December 14: Dawid Malan admitted he was uncertain how to celebrate after reaching a first Test hundred for England against Australia in Perth.

Malan's unbeaten 110, from 174 balls featuring 15 fours and a six, helped the tourists from a perilous 131-4 to 305-4 at stumps on day one of the third Ashes Test at the WACA.

The left-hander - dropped on 92 in the only blemish of an otherwise sublime knock - put on an unbroken stand of 174 for the fifth wicket with Jonny Bairstow, who revelled in his promotion to number six by making 75 not out.

Mark Stoneman's 56 at the top of the order gave England a positive start but the day undoubtedly belonged to Malan, who brought up three figures with a firm pull for four off Josh Hazlewood 15 minutes before the close.

"I'm over the moon, it's been pretty emotional, it's not every day you get an opportunity to score a hundred for your country," Malan told BT Sport.

"I didn't really know what to do to be honest! It was a great feeling, especially the way this tour's gone, to get us in a good position for tomorrow.

"I was trying to run two, I didn't realise I'd hit it that well! When you're in the 90s you start to think a bit ahead of yourself. When I got put down it put me back in my box a bit and I started watching the ball a bit harder.

"It's a great feeling. We've made the headlines for the wrong things, and the only way to put those to bed is to win games of cricket.

"We've got one foot in the door and we need to capitalise on that tomorrow. There were times in the [previous] games where we were on top, hopefully in this game we can capitalise on the moments we're on top.

"We have to score as many runs as we can. The first hour is crucial while the ball is still new, we need to get through that with the same positive intent."

Source: OPTA