Perth, Australia: David Warner put Australia into prime position to reclaim the Ashes in the third test, making England pay dearly for its missed opportunities as he helped increase the lead to 369 runs with a rapid century on Sunday.
Warner clubbed 12 boundaries and two sixes, surviving stumping opportunities on 13 and 89, and shared a 157-run opening stand with Chris Rogers (54) before lofting Graeme Swann to Ben Stokes at long-on, out for 112.
The England attack sorely missed leading paceman Stuart Broad, who went for scans after being hit on the right foot as he was trapped lbw by Mitchell Johnson in the morning session, and didn't return to the field.
At stumps on day three, the Australians were 235-3 with Shane Watson on 29 and Steve Smith on five.
After big wins in the first two tests, Australia is now an overwhelming favorite to clinch the five-match series in Perth and end England's three-series hold on the urn.
Momentum on the middle day was with the Australians from the third over when they challenged a not-out decision for lbw against Ian Bell (15) and got it overturned. Vice-captain Matt Prior's day started badly with an irresponsible dismissal during an England batting collapse and got worse when he missed two stumping chances against Warner and left a difficult chance from Rogers to Cook at first slip.
England resumed at 180-4 and added only 71 in 20 overs before Peter Siddle (3-36) finished them off on the stroke of lunch, giving Australia a 134-run first-innings buffer.
Ryan Harris (3-48) struck an early blow when he hit Bell on the knee with the total at 190. Umpire Marais Erasmus' not out decision was overruled with tracking technology showing the ball would have hit the top of the middle stump.
Johnson got his first wicket of the test, and 18th in the series, when he had Stokes (18) caught behind three overs later.
England passed 200 for only the second time in the series before Prior (8) picked the wrong ball from Siddle to pull and bottom-edged a simple catch to Brad Haddin.
Johnson crushed Broad's foot with a yorker, sending him to hospital for scans and depriving England of a bowler who has 14 wickets in the series for the rest of the day.
Warner and Rogers had no real difficulty against the weakened attack and produced the biggest opening stand of the series. It ended after tea when Rogers played a loose shot to a wide ball from Tim Bresnan and cut straight to Michael Carberry at point.
Watson had a chance on eight, attempting a quick single, when Carberry missed a throw at the non-striker's end that would have run him out. He had another let-off on nine when he tried to sweep Swann and paddled a difficult chance to Ian Bell, who couldn't hold it at short leg.
Warner's dismissal made the total 183-2 and skipper Michael Clarke's (23) dismissal made it 223-3 a half hour before stumps on a long, hot day at the WACA
