Australia's Alex Carey's Sparkling Ton Assists The Baggy Greens Bounce Back After An Early England Test Series Onslaught.

In the wake of the pandemonium from Perth as well as the Gabba's day-night spectacle, an outbreak of familiar brand of the longest format broke out on the turf of the Adelaide ground. For the delighted South Australian fans, the day proved one to savour, with local hero Alex Carey produced a sparkling century at his home ground as Australia Australia just shade the opening day.

Not that The touring English side, trailing 2-0 while clinging on in this series, were too disappointed. Ben Stokes lost out on what seemed like a significant coin toss and, despite being not perfect, the English attack continued plugging away under sweltering conditions. By the close of play, the Australians had reached 326-8 from 83 overs bowled – runs on the board yet likely short of initial ambitions after Pat Cummins won the choice first thing.

The Pace of Archer Leads The Tourist's Fightback.

The most impressive performer for England proved to be Jofra Archer. Figures of 3/29 off 16 overs constituted a strong answer against some of scrutiny directed at him this past week. Here he clearly spearheaded the bowling unit, clocking 88mph (142kph) with the speed gun while providing Stokes a combination of accuracy together with clear menace. Only at the very end of play – during a single over using the fresh cherry – did he look somewhat weary.

Having bounced out opener Jake Weatherald first thing, Archer's initial over post-lunch wiped out Marnus Labuschagne followed by Cameron Green within just three balls. Green's golden duck was a stark reminder of how cricket can bring even a celebrated player back down to earth, coming from weak chip shot to the mid-wicket fielder occurring barely 24 hours following trousering a massive £1.5m deal in the IPL.

Carey's Invaluable Innings Steadies The Innings.

Carey's day, in contrast, was nothing short of invaluable, peaking around 4.48pm as he elegantly drove Ben Stokes through the covers for three which prompted the Adelaide faithful rose with a roar. Fresh from that masterful outing behind the stumps at the Gabba, the left-hander's counterattacking 106 runs from 143 deliveries ensured that a mid-innings stumble to 94 for four failed to develop into a complete collapse. At 34, Carey is a serious cricketer nowadays.

The Australian batting lineup did leave some potential runs on the field, though. Gone was the excessive pace and bounce of the first two Tests replaced by just a hint of nibble when the right area was hit.

There was also a bit of turn to off-spinner Will Jacks, although his control was that of a part-time spinner – resulting in expensive figures of two for 105 off 20 overs – and the balls that did to turn sharply will give hope to Australia's own spinner, Nathan Lyon.

Solemn Backdrop with Late Switch.

The day's play was inevitably an emotional occasion for the host nation, coming so shortly in the wake of the horrific terrorist attack at Bondi. The minute’s silence observed prior to the first ball was immaculately observed, broken only by musician John Williams delivering an emotional rendition of True Blue.

Earlier, the hosts had also been forced into a change from their stated starting eleven. Steve Smith was withdrawn due to dizziness along with nausea in the morning – seemingly recurrence of a vertigo issue that has intermittently affected him since being felled by a Jofra Archer bouncer at Lord's years back.

In came Usman Khawaja, a day after many felt his international career may be over. Until the wicketkeeper's arrival, Khawaja had expertly held the innings together, coming to the crease with the score on 33 for two and finessing a fine 82 off 126 balls just a day before turning 39. Partnerships worth 61 runs with Marnus Labuschagne plus another of 91 runs with Alex Carey were significant.

England's Mixed Bag Persists.

Aside from Archer's efforts, and notwithstanding the sapping heat, this was still another disappointing outing from England’s attack. Brydon Carse somewhat rolled over his form from the first two Tests, picking up figures of 2/70 off 13 overs, and the incoming Josh Tongue picked up one for 63 from 15 overs.

The Durham bowler looked erratic when tasked with sharing the duty of the new ball early on, overstepping on five occasions but still removing Travis Head for just 10 runs thanks to a sublime catch by Zak Crawley in the covers. It rather summed up the day's play for both teams: moments of brilliance interspersed with periods of sloppy cricket.