Test opener Ed Cowan has led Tasmania to first-innings points with a century on day two of the Sheffield Shield match against Western Australia at Bellerive.

Cowan has gone to lunch unbeaten on 105, his third Shield hundred of the season, with the Tigers 2-189 in reply to WA’s paltry first innings total of 142.

Cowan resumed on 47 on Friday morning before bringing up a near-flawless century off 175 balls with 14 fours.

Former Australian captain Ricky Ponting is with Cowan on 50, the pair having put on 112 for the third wicket to have the ladder leaders’ Western Australia’s Shield final hopes precariously balanced.

Ponting, though, has been inconvenienced by an injury to his right hand, several times removing it from the bat and shaking it painfully.

He called for treatment after turning a Nathan Coulter-Nile ball to the leg side when he was 31 but has batted for the majority of the first session.

His 50 came off 98 balls with six fours and a six.

The Tigers resumed at 1-73 but lost Nick Kruger four runs later for nine, trapped lbw by Michael Hogan.