Michael Vaughan benefited from the hard-nosed approach of modern cricket to continue his prolific year for England and provide Australian audiences with evidence of real competition during the remainder of the Ashes series.

Had Vaughan elected to follow the spirit of cricket to the letter, he would have walked after driving Andy Bichel low to Justin Langer in the gully for only 19, and England would have suffered a damaging early loss on the opening day of the second Test at Adelaide.

Instead, he followed the modern practice of allowing the umpire to refer to TV official Steve Davis, who was unconvinced about the legality of the catch.

After five minutes of studying replays, he ruled Vaughan was not out and allowed him to score 177 and guide England to a promising 295 for four at the close.

Vaughan's performance was all the more remarkable considering he needed treatment from physio Kirk Russell before the start after feeling discomfort in his right knee.

He had an operation on last September and missed the first three matches of the tour. He also suffered a painful blow to his shoulder from fast bowler Jason Gillespie.

But it was his reluctance to accept Langer's view of the incident which gave England the drive and determination to bounce back from their 384-run first Test hammering in Brisbane.

Another poor opening day would have left the most optimistic of Australian cricket fans sceptical about the tourists' ability to compete.

Having been aided by the indecision of the officials and the below par display from Australia in the field - Vaughan survived two of the five missed chances - the Yorkshire batsman was able to fulfil a childhood dream.

''It hasn't really sunk in yet about my hundred, but it's something you dream about from a young age, of coming to Australia and doing well,'' said Vaughan, who has now claimed centuries in five of his last nine Test appearances.

''It's probably the best of all my hundreds because it's against Australia. It's a good Adelaide wicket, but they're always asking questions and they've got a fantastic attack.

"The hundreds in the summer were great but to score a hundred against Australia in Australia has to be the pinnacle.''

Vaughan was given the opportunity to play his memorable innings largely because of captain Nasser Hussain's second successive winning toss.

This time, he took local advice at a ground where no side has lost a Test batting first since 1965-66.

Australia became increasingly frustrated at their failure to make more of a breakthrough, which was only inflamed by Vaughan's refusal to walk after he drove to Langer.

''At first, I thought I was gone, but there was a suspicion in my mind that the ball had touched the ground and that's why I stood my ground,'' explained Vaughan. ''If you ask any batsman in our team or any batsman in their team, they'd have done exactly the same.

''It's probably a little sad that cricket's like that, but batting's a tough game and there's going to be days when you get given out when you're not out.

''If I got away with it, I got away with it, but the cameras suggested the ball touched the ground.

''It's not criminal, it's just the way cricket's going and more people will stand their ground.''

Since the International Cricket Council allowed umpires to refer disputed catches to TV replays, an increasing number of batsmen have allowed technology to decide their fate knowing that most pictures are inconclusive at best.

Relations in the middle were not improved by Bichel claiming a caught and bowled off Marcus Trescothick which clearly bounced in front of him.

Trescothick fell chopping Glenn McGrath on to his stumps and Robert Key, promoted up the order after Mark Butcher contracted a migraine, fell to a freak catch by Ricky Ponting at silly mid-off to give Shane Warne his first wicket.

While teammates fell at the other end, Vaughan demonstrated increasing dominance, pulling Bichel for six and hitting Warne for two boundaries in his first over of the day.

With Hussain delivering an equally aggressive innings, the pair forged a 140-run partnership spanning 42 overs which threatened to take England into a far more commanding position.

Instead, Hussain edged Warne behind and Vaughan fell three balls before the finish after recording the highest score by an England batsman in an overseas Ashes Test since Mike Denness hit 188 in Melbourne in 1974-75.

''It was very disappointing to get out," said Vaughan