England's batters finally showed some mettle on day three of the fourth Ashes test, with Jonny Bairstow scoring his seventh test century at the SCG on Friday.

Bairstow's brilliant knock helped his side reach stumps on 258-7, still trailing Australia by 158 runs.

After Australia had declared their innings closed at 416-8 on Thursday, England were eager to put together a competitive first innings total in response.

But the tourists' batting woes continued on Friday morning, with the visitors losing four wickets in the opening session before the lunch break to drop to 36-4.

Victorian quick Scott Boland was once again the chief destroyer, claiming two wickets in a superb four-over spell.

At lunch it looked as though the same old story that had been told all Ashes series was coming up again and England would be facing a follow on and another massive defeat.

However, Ben Stokes and Bairstow fought back in the afternoon session, surviving until the tea break without losing another wicket.

England's Mark Wood contributed some handy runs in the lower-order to help England avoid the dreaded follow-on, and Bairstow brought up triple figures in the final over of the day.

The England No 6 had been batting with a sore thumb, but he powered through to pain to revive the innings and keep the tourists in the contest.

Bairstow's century was England's first of the Ashes tour, reaching the milestone in 138 balls. The 32-year-old partnered with Stokes in a 128-run stand before the all-rounder was dismissed for 66 by Nathan Lyon.

Bairstow brought up triple figures with a back-foot slash through point. He celebrated the moment by kissing the helmet and saluting the crowd.

It was his seventh test century and second against Australia. His most recent test ton came in November 2018, more than three years ago.

Earlier in the evening session, Cricket Australia confirmed that Boland had been taken for a scan after tumbling onto the pitch, but he returned to the field of play later.