Australia are in a commanding position after day one of the third Test against the West Indies at the WACA.

Hometown hero Mike Hussey poised to become the first Aussie centurion for the series after Simon Katich and Shane Watson went desperately close.

The Australians finished an entertaining day's play on 339 for three, but Katich will be rueing a rash shot on 99 that led to his downfall, while Watson looked to be charging towards his maiden Test ton before being beaten for pace by Kemar Roach on 89.

Despite entering the Test under significant pressure to keep his place in the side, Hussey produced an untroubled 81 having come in midway through the second session when captain Ricky Ponting was forced to retire after being hit just above the elbow by a Roach screamer, clocked at 146kph.

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Ponting was struck on the left arm by the second ball he faced after Roach, bearing down with the aid of a howling westerly, beat Watson's forward defence, earning an edge to the keeper after the Australian opener took all before him in the first session.

In a fiery 40-minute period that provided good theatre for the crowd of 13,000, the Australian skipper courageously defied the pain to make 23 and still had time to belt Roach for two boundaries and a six in the one over.

But the skipper may find himself in hot water with match officials after being involved in a heated exchange with Dwayne Bravo that could see both players disciplined as umpire Ian Gould was forced to separate them.

It's all about numbers

After seeking attention from Australian physio Alex Kountouris on two occasions, Ponting was eventually forced to go to hospital for x-rays on his arm, although the skipper was eventually cleared of any break and will resume his battle with Roach tomorrow.

Despite all the distractions, Hussey quietly went about making runs, finishing the day 19 runs shy of his century, his only flourish being one over off Roach, where he hit the speedster for 12 runs.

He and fellow Western Australian, Marcus North (23) produced a steady finish to a day that seemed chock full of dramatic moments from the outset.

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With Nathan Hauritz cleared of a finger injury to take his place in the side, the Windies revealed they had made three changes to the side that had drawn the second Test in Adelaide, injury victims Shivnarine Chanderpaul (finger) and Adrian Barath (hamstring), along with the omitted Darren Sammy replaced by debutant Gavin Tonge, Travis Dowlin and Narsingh Deonarine.

Having won the toss, Ponting strangely elected to bat after previously saying he would never bat first at the WACA again after last year's disastrous first session against South Africa.

But his decision proved a masterstroke as Watson and Katich put on 106 for the first session, robbing the Windies of any momentum from the Adelaide result.

Watson should have been out for seven off Roach, but Chris Gayle dropped the catch at first slip and Watson went on to plunder the bowling at will, hitting 15 boundaries in his 89.

Having eventually seen the back of Watson and the retired Ponting after lunch, the Windies looked to make in-roads into the Australian middle order, but were repelled by a solid partnership from Hussey and Katich that took the Australians to tea at 217 for one.

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Katich was fortunate to survive a spectacular dropped catch by Dowlin at short-leg early in the final session but holed out to spinner Deonarine on 99 when he chased a ball well outside off-stump and hit squarely to Roach at square leg.

Michael Clarke then came and went for 11, but North and Hussey took the Aussies through to stumps safely.

As the crowds departed, the West Indies stayed out on the field for several minutes, reflecting on a day where several dropped catches and misfields ultimately proved costly.

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But Gayle will also be looking at the use of his bowlers, as he opted to use his spinners for most of the final session, despite having Roach (1-67) rested and available to terrorise the Australians with the sea breeze behind him.

More mysteriously, having bowled Roach into the wind during the first session, Gayle chose the same strategy for the final six overs before stumps, ultimately ending in little gain for the tourists.

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