A steely-eyed Matthew Hayden said this week he wasn't washed up.

He's now delivered on his declaration with his 22nd Test century, putting Australia in a strong position at 6-331 at stumps on the opening day of the Super Test.

The Queenslander's 111 was the backbone of the home team's first innings against the World XI before Adam Gilchrist (94no) came in late in the day to further sway the game in Australia's favour.

Both the destructive left-handers endured tough times during the Ashes, but Hayden's position was still in jeopardy while Gilchrist's wasn't.

Hayden's 277-minute knock nailed down his spot in the national team following his career-saving ton at The Oval last month.

The 33-year-old had shown signs he was finding his touch again with a patient 138 in England but questions still remained over his heavy footwork.

He had endured a rotten spell before The Oval century, scoring 842 runs at 30.07 in 16 Tests, but even the ton in England didn't stop him being dumped from the one-day side.

Hayden had talked about his new tempered approach and there were signs of a more patient approach as he went to lunch on 28.

However he demonstrated plenty of his trademark aggression as he hit Ashes tormentor Andrew Flintoff for consecutive fours to bring up his half century.

He brought up his hundred with a straight drive for four off Steve Harmison before falling 11 runs later to spinner Muttiah Muralitharan (2-102).

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