By Rebecca Syrocki Last updated: 23rd May 2008
Ponting: Delighted to be back
Australia captain Ricky Ponting has admitted he is delighted to be back in the longer version of the game after opening the Test series against West Indies with an innings of 158.
Since scoring a century in his last Test appearance in January against India he has been struggling to make scores when focusing on one-day and Twenty20 competition in India.
"The last Test innings I had was a hundred but I struggled through the one-day series and never felt that comfortable and today felt comfortable again," said Ponting after his century in Kingston.
"The start of a Test summer for me is always exciting. Our last overseas Test was nearly two years ago, we haven't played a lot of test cricket. I've been looking forward to putting on the whites again and the green baggy and spending some time in the middle. I got that today.
"It's nice to know you have six hours to go out and build an innings. In (Twenty20) sometimes you have got six balls or six minutes."
Ponting's team are in a dominant position heading into the second day despite the skipper being caught with only 11 minutes remaining in the day's play.
"The wicket is pretty good to bat on but as you saw at the end of the day there is a bit of variable bounce there. But I think we are in a really good position," he said.
"But the new ball has been taken, we are four down with 301, hopefully we can build on that with the new ball tomorrow, with the guys to come hopefully we can really push on and make a big total.
"It's important that we don't let today's (work) slip tomorrow. It's about putting two good days together and then we will really be in the box seat," said Ponting.

All the action from day one of the first Test between Sri Lanka and Pakistan in Galle.
All the best images from day three of play between the England Lions and Australia at New Road.
All the best images from day three of play between the England XI and Warwickshire at Edgbaston.
All the best pictures from the third one-dayer between the West Indies and India at Gros Islet.
All the action from day one of the first Test between Sri Lanka and Pakistan in Galle.
| Fixture |
|---|
| Saturday 4th July |
| Test Match First Test Match |
| Sri Lanka vs Pakistan |
| Tour Match Four Day Match |
| England Lions vs Australia |
| Varsity Match 1 Day Annual Varsity Match |
| Oxford UCCE vs Cambridge UCCE |
| Sunday 5th July |
| Friends Provident Friends Provident Semi Final |
| Lancashire vs Hampshire |
| Sussex vs Gloucestershire |
| One Day Int Fourth Match |
| West Indies vs India |
| Women's ODI 4th Match |
| England Women vs Australia Women |
| Monday 6th July |
| U-19 Test Series 1st Match |
| England Under 19 vs Bangladesh Under 19 |
| Tuesday 7th July |
| County Championship - Div 1 |
| Warwickshire vs Sussex |
| County Championship - Div 2 |
| Northamptonshire vs Derbyshire |
| Result |
|---|
| Friday 3rd July |
| County Championship - Division One |
| Somerset vs Yorkshire Somerset won by 4 wickets. |
| Nottinghamshire vs Lancashire Match Drawn |
| Durham vs Worcestershire Durham won by 5 wickets. |
| County Championship - Division Two |
| Middlesex vs Surrey Match Drawn |
| Kent vs Gloucestershire Kent won by 76 runs. |
| Derbyshire vs Leicestershire Match Drawn |
| Friendly Match |
| Warwickshire vs England Match Drawn |
| One Day International Series |
| West Indies vs India India won by 6 wickets. (Revised target - Duckworth-Lewis system) |
| Women's One Day International Series |
| England Women vs Australia Women England Women won by 2 wickets. |
| Tuesday 30th June |
| Women's One Day International Series |
| England Women vs Australia Women England Women won by 55 runs. |
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