Australia's Alex Carey's Sparkling Ton Assists Australia Bounce Back After An Early English Ashes Assault.
Following that chaos from Perth and the Gabba's pink-ball palooza, a more familiar style of Test cricket was witnessed on the turf of Adelaide Oval. For the delighted South Australian fans, it was a day to savour, with homegrown talent the wicketkeeper-batsman notched up a sparkling hundred at his home turf to help Australia edge the first day's play.
Not that The touring English side, 2-0 down and clinging on in the contest, were too disappointed. Skipper Ben Stokes lost out on what seemed like an ominous toss and, despite being far from at their best, the English attack kept plugging away under sweltering conditions. At stumps, Australia were 326-8 from 83 overs bowled – runs on the board but surely below their expectations when captain Pat Cummins got the toss in the morning.
The Pace of Archer Stands Out For England's Fightback.
The most impressive performer for the tourists proved to be Jofra Archer. Returning figures of 3/29 off 16 overs were a strong response against the criticism that came his way. Here he visibly spearheaded the attack, clocking around 88mph (142kmh) on the speed gun and offering his captain both accuracy together with clear threat. It was only towards the very end of play – during a single over with the fresh cherry – did he look somewhat weary.
Having dismissed opener Jake Weatherald early on, the fast bowler's initial over after lunch accounted for Marnus Labuschagne and Cameron Green in the space of three balls. Green's duck served as a reminder that cricket can bring a player back down to earth, his tepid chip to the mid-wicket fielder occurring barely a day after trousering a record multi-million dollar deal for the upcoming IPL.
The Keeper's Invaluable Innings Steadies The Ship.
Alex Carey's performance, however, was nothing short of invaluable, culminating around late afternoon when he drove Stokes through cover for three which prompted the Adelaide faithful rose in a huge roar. Coming off his virtuoso display behind the stumps at the Gabba, his counterattacking 106 runs from 143 balls ensured that the mid-innings stumble to 94/4 failed to develop into a complete crisis. The 34-year-old is a serious cricketer nowadays.
The Australian batting lineup did leave a few runs on the field, however. Gone was that excessive pace and bounce of the first two Tests and in its place just a hint of seam movement if the right area was hit.
There was also some grip for Will Jacks, although his consistency was typical of a part-time spinner – resulting in expensive figures of two for 105 off his 20 overs – but the deliveries he did get to misbehave will give hope to Nathan Lyon.
Emotional Backdrop with A Late Team Change.
The day's play was inevitably a poignant day for the host nation, arriving so shortly in the wake of the horrific terrorist attack at Bondi. The minute’s silence prior to the first ball was immaculately held, followed by musician John Williams performing an emotional rendition of True Blue.
Earlier, Australia were also forced into an alteration from their announced XI. Steve Smith was withdrawn after reporting dizziness and nausea in the morning – seemingly recurrence of a vertigo issue which has intermittently affected the star batter since he was struck by a Jofra Archer bouncer at Lord's years back.
In came Usman Khawaja, just 24 hours after it was speculated his Test career could be finished. Until the wicketkeeper's heroics, the left-hander had expertly held the innings together, coming to the crease at 33/2 and finessing 82 off 126 balls a day out from turning 39. Stands worth 61 runs with Labuschagne and 91 with Alex Carey proved crucial.
England's Mixed Bag Persists.
Aside from Archer's efforts, and despite the energy-sapping conditions, it remained still another disappointing outing from England’s attack. Seamer Brydon Carse somewhat rolled over his inconsistent form from the first two Tests, picking up figures of 2/70 from 13 overs, and the recalled Josh Tongue claimed 1/63 in 15 overs.
Carse was erratic when tasked with sharing the new ball first thing, overstepping five times but still removing Travis Head for 10 thanks to a sublime one-handed catch by Zak Crawley at cover. This moment summed up the day for both teams: brilliance interspersed with some sloppy play.