Proteas opener scores ton against Aussies

South African opener Stephen Cook scored a dogged century against Australia in the third Test.

Cook's second Test ton came from 235 balls - he ended up being the last man out as the Proteas were bowled out for 250, leaving Australia 127 runs to win.

Cook, a 33-year-old playing his fifth Test, reached his milestone in the opening session of Sunday's fourth day of play at Adelaide Oval.

The stodgy right-hander's knock is unlikely to be acclaimed for style, but contained fighting substance which has been the hallmark of his career.

"Cookie is just one of those hard-working cricketers; sort of old-school," South Africa's batting coach Neil McKenzie said on Saturday.

"It doesn't always look pretty but he has a method that has worked for him - he has got nearly 40 first-class hundreds so you can't mess with technique.

"Mentally he is right up there in terms of one of the toughest guys playing cricket at this stage.

"He has endured a lot of noise about his technique but normally what Cook does well is capitalises on starts and he has a good conversion rate."