Alex Carey's Brilliant Century Helps The Hosts Recover From An Early England Ashes Assault.

Following the chaos of the Perth Test as well as the Gabba's pink-ball palooza, a more familiar brand regarding red-ball cricket broke out at Adelaide Oval. For the delighted home crowd, the day proved one to savour, as local hero Alex Carey produced an outstanding century on his home venue as Australia the home side edge the opening day.

Not that England, 2-0 down while clinging on in the contest, were too disheartened. Ben Stokes had lost what seemed like a significant coin toss and, despite being far from perfect, the English attack continued persevering in sweltering conditions. At stumps, Australia were 326 for eight off 83 overs bowled – runs on the board yet likely below their expectations when captain Pat Cummins got the choice first thing.

Jofra Archer Stands Out For England's Effort.

The standout for England was speedster Jofra Archer. Returning figures of three for 29 from his 16 overs constituted a powerful riposte against the scrutiny directed at him this past week. On this day he clearly led the attack, averaging around 88mph (142kmh) with the speed gun and offering Stokes both control together with obvious threat. It was only towards the end of the day – during a single over with the second new ball – that he appeared somewhat weary.

Having bounced out opener Jake Weatherald early on, Archer's first over post-lunch wiped out Marnus Labuschagne followed by Cameron Green in the space of three balls. Green's golden duck served as a stark reminder that this sport can swiftly bring even a celebrated player back to reality, coming from tepid chip to the mid-wicket fielder occurring less than 24 hours following trousering a massive multi-million dollar contract in the IPL.

Carey's Priceless Innings Steadies The Innings.

Carey's day, in contrast, was nothing short of priceless, peaking around late afternoon as he drove Ben Stokes through the covers for three which prompted the Adelaide faithful rose in a huge roar. Fresh from that virtuoso display behind the stumps in Brisbane, his aggressive 106 runs from 143 balls made sure that a post-lunch wobble of 94 for four failed to develop into a complete collapse. At 34, Carey has become a serious cricketer these days.

Australia undoubtedly left some runs out there, however. Absent was the pronounced bounce of the first two Tests and in its place only a fraction of seam movement when the right area was located.

The pitch also offered a bit of turn to off-spinner Will Jacks, even if his control was typical of a part-timer – hence expensive figures of two for 105 from 20 overs – and the balls he did get to misbehave will give hope to Nathan Lyon.

Solemn Context and A Late Team Change.

The day's play was always going to be an emotional day for Australia, coming so shortly in the wake of the horrific tragic incident at Bondi. The minute’s silence observed before the start of play was immaculately observed, followed by folk singer John Williams delivering a stirring rendition of the anthem 'True Blue'.

By this stage, Australia had also been forced into an alteration to their stated XI. Steve Smith was withdrawn after reporting feeling dizzy along with nausea in the morning – an apparent return of the vertigo which has intermittently troubled him since he was struck by a Jofra Archer bouncer at Lord's years back.

In came Usman Khawaja, a day after it was speculated his international career could be over. Before Carey's arrival, Khawaja had held the Australian innings together, coming to the crease with the score on 33/2 before crafting a fine 82 from 126 balls just a day before turning 39. Stands worth 61 runs with Marnus Labuschagne and 91 runs with Alex Carey proved significant.

The Tourist's Mixed Bag Persists.

Aside from Archer's efforts, and notwithstanding the sapping heat, it remained yet another disappointing outing from England’s attack. Brydon Carse rather continued his inconsistent form from the first two Tests, picking up figures of 2/70 from 13 overs, while the recalled Josh Tongue claimed 1/63 from 15 overs.

The Durham bowler was all over the shop when handed sharing the new cherry early on, no-balling five times but still dismissing Travis Head for 10 courtesy of a spectacular one-handed catch from Zak Crawley at cover. It rather summed up the day's play for both teams: brilliance mixed with some sloppy play.