Perth (Reuters): Dawid Malan struck England’s first century of the Ashes series as the tourists saw off Australia’s marauding pace attack to emerge on top of an enthralling first day of the third test at the WACA on Thursday.

The middle order batsman’s unbeaten 110 anchored a flourishing 174-run stand with wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow (75 not out), the pair pushing England to 305 for four at the close of a glorious day in Perth.

England captain Joe Root and his predecessor Alastair Cook may have failed with the bat, but the skipper won perhaps the most important contest of the day when he guessed correctly at the toss and opted to bat first.

Criticised for electing to bowl in the second test defeat in Adelaide, Root was rewarded this time with three of his batsmen passing 50.

Australia’s pacemen were generally superb through much of the day and breathed fire in some hostile spells before the tea interval, but the quicks were let down in the field by three dropped catches.

The last of them reprieved lefthander Malan on 92 off the first delivery with the second new ball from a frustrated Mitchell Starc late in the day.

England’s Dawid Malan celebrates after reaching his century

during the first day of the third Ashes cricket test match - REUTERS

Coaxing a thick edge from the England number five, Cameron Bancroft dived across from third slip in front of his captain Steve Smith to grass the chance.

The 30-year-old Malan went on to raise his century in style, pulling paceman Josh Hazlewood to the fence to trigger a standing ovation from a crowd of 22,148.

Bairstow played a fine support role on his return to the city where he drew unwanted attention for ‘head-butting’ Bancroft at a local bar on the first night of the tour.

The pair came together with England 115 for three just after lunch and their ability to survive for nearly two sessions will have inspired Root’s team as the Ashes holders seek to claw back from a 2-0 deficit in the five-match series.

They weathered some nervy moments. Bairstow, promoted to sixth in the order, all but played onto his stumps during all-rounder Mitchell Marsh’s third over when on 39.

Opener Mark Stoneman was out for 56, having twice been dropped after reaching his second half-century of the series and also struck on the helmet with a vicious short ball by Hazlewood.

He was first put down by Mitchell Marsh in the slips, then a diving Nathan Lyon was unable to complete a difficult low chance at point.

Root was out softly for 20, caught down the legside by wicketkeeper Tim Paine, and Stoneman followed in controversial circumstances.

Paine leapt high to take a fine one-handed catch after Starc appeared to graze Stoneman’s right glove but the caught behind appeal was turned down.

No evidence Ashes test under fixing threat, says ICC

PERTH (Reuters): The ICC are taking allegations in a British newspaper about attempts to organise spot-fixing during the third Ashes test “extremely seriously” but do not think the match has been compromised, global cricket’s governing body said on Thursday.

The Sun reported that underground bookmakers from India had offered to sell undercover reporters from the newspaper information about spot-fixing in the test between Australia and England, which started in Perth on Thursday.

Cricket Australia said the report was a “serious concern”, while the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said they were “aware” of the allegations even if there had been no suggestion any England players were involved.

Spot-fixing occurs when corrupt players agree to manipulate part of a match by, for example, bowling a wide on a particular delivery or ensuring a particular run rate.

The corruption does not usually affect the overall outcome of the match but gamblers in the know can use the information to beat the betting market.

The underground bookmakers told the reporters they had previously manipulated matches in the Indian Premier League and were also targeting Australia’s Twenty20 Big Bash League.

The newspaper said it had passed all the evidence to the International Cricket Council, who said they would be investigated by its Anti-Corruption Unit.

“From my initial assessment of the material, there is no evidence, either from The Sun or via our own intelligence, to suggest the current test match has been corrupted,” Alex Marshall, ICC General Manager Anti-Corruption, said in a statement.

“At this stage of the investigation, there is no indication that any players in this test have been in contact with the alleged fixers.

“The allegations are wide ranging and relate to various forms cricket in several countries, including T20 tournaments. We will look closely at all the information as part of our investigation.”

Cricket Australia (CA) Chief Executive James Sutherland was briefed by Marshall on the allegations in a conference call early on Thursday which also included ICC boss Dave Richardson among others.

He said Marshall had told him there was “no evidence, substance or justification” to suggest any players or officials from CA, the ECB or the ICC were under suspicion.

However, he declined to comment on whether any Australia players were named in the dossier of evidence passed to the ICC from The Sun.

“I’m sure the ECB can make their own comments, but we have absolute confidence in our players, our team officials and others involved in the game,” he told reporters outside the WACA.

Sutherland added that Marshall would possibly brief the media later on Thursday.

The ECB said the body worked closely with the ICC and its Anti-Corruption unit to “protect the integrity” of cricket.

“We are aware of these allegations and there is no suggestion that any of the England team is involved in any way,” said a spokesman.

Four Pakistan cricketers were jailed in Britain in 2011 and banned from the game for lengthy periods after taking money from a bookmaker to spot-fix during a test against England at Lord’s in 2010.