Australia's charge towards a series-levelling victory was upset by Ricky Ponting suffering a suspected broken finger that could rule him out of the rest of the campaign. Ponting was sent for x-rays after rebounding the edge of Jonathan Trott from first slip to the wicketkeeper Brad Haddin late on the third day.
After joining his team-mates in the huddle, Ponting left the field for treatment on the little finger of his left hand. Peter Siddle said Ponting "seemed alright", but the extent of the injury won't be known until he returns from hospital.
The WACA has become a horrible ground for Ponting, who was forced to retire hurt last year after being struck on the elbow by West Indies' Kemar Roach. His poor run in this series continued here with scores of 12 and 1, taking his total to 83 in six innings.
Despite the pain in his hand, Ponting will be buoyed by the amazing response of his team in Perth after being out-played in the opening two Ashes fixtures. Australia need only five wickets over the next two days to level the series at 1-1 with two Tests remaining.
Ponting last missed a Test in 2004-05 when a broken finger kept him out of the first three games of the final-frontier victory in India. Adam Gilchrist was in charge of that campaign, handing over to Ponting for the final match, which Australia lost in Mumbai. Michael Clarke, the vice-captain, will step in if Ponting can't recover for the Boxing Day Test.
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