It's important we follow this up with a good first session tomorrow SA coach Mickey Arthur More close of play reaction

Jacques Kallis and Ashwell Prince shared a partnership of 144 to revive South Africa on day one of the third Test against Australia in Sydney.

The tourists, who trail 1-0 in the three-match series, reached 230-3 with Kallis 80 not out and Prince on 62.

Kallis batted aggressively despite pain from an elbow injury and he hit 13 fours to pass 7,500 runs in Tests.

Pace bowler Brett Lee earlier picked up two wickets for the home side as South Africa were reduced to 86-3.

Lee had AB de Villiers caught behind for two and he later claimed the vital scalp of South Africa captain Graeme Smith, who was trapped lbw for 39 by a full-length delivery, which swung in late.

Smith's downfall came shortly after Herschelle Gibbs had been bowled off the inside edge by Glenn McGrath for 27.

No play was possible before lunch at the SCG because of rain, but once the umpires were satisfied with conditions under foot, Smith chose to bat first after winning the toss.

South Africa made two changes with debutant Johan Botha and Charl Langeveldt coming in for Nicky Boje and injured Makhaya Ntini.

Australia recalled Justin Langer, who missed the second Test with a hamstring injury, in place of Phil Jaques but it was skipper Ricky Ponting who took centre stage as he stepped out for his 100th Test appearance.

Lee produced plenty of fire in the early stages of the match

Ponting had a chance to make an immediate impact when McGrath found the edge of de Villiers's bat in the third over, but he failed to hold the catch at slip.

It did not prove an expensive miss, but there were further problems for Ponting in the final session as he rotated his bowlers in a vain attempt to break the partnership between Kallis and Prince.

Kallis offered one chance on 37 when he attempted to cut leg-spinner Stuart MacGill and edged the ball just beyond the reach of a diving Shane Warne.

It was a solitary blemish in a high quality innings by Kallis, who used his feet superbly to loft MacGill back over his head for four and later cracked him away through the covers for another.

Prince was content to play the supporting role, which was understandable following scores of 28, 8, 6 and 26 in the first two matches.

The left-hander, who began his Test career with 49 against Australia in Johannesburg four years ago, went one better when he clipped MacGill away through the leg-side for three to bring up a 106-ball half century.

And Prince celebrated with two excellent cover drives for four off the same bowler before he and Kallis accepted an offer of bad light from the umpires, bringing play to an end.

MacGill proved expensive on his home ground, conceding 53 from 12 overs, while fellow spinner Warne was restricted to just seven overs by Ponting, for figures of 0-24.

Australia: M L Hayden, J L Langer, R T Ponting (Capt), B J Hodge M E K Hussey, A Symonds, A C Gilchrist (Wkt), S K Warne, B Lee G D McGrath, S C G MacGill.

South Africa: G C Smith (Capt), A B de Villiers, H H Gibbs J H Kallis, A G Prince, J A Rudolph, M V Boucher (Wkt), S M Pollock C K Langeveldt, A Nel, J Botha.

Umpires: Aleem Dar and B F Bowden