With the Ashes already wrapped up heading into Melbourne, Australia decided to stick with their winning formula and give the struggling Andrew Symonds another go at test cricket. With Australia in a spot of bother at 5/84 in their first innings, Symonds in the last chance saloon joined fishing buddy Matthew Hayden in the centre of the MCG. With 80,000 watching on, Symonds overcame a sluggish start to power to his maiden test match century. He finished with 156, equalling his highest international score, which included 15 fours and a six. He and Hayden put on 279 for the sixth wicket which helped give Shane Warne the perfect home send-off with a resounding innings defeat of the old enemy.