Alex Carey's Stunning Hundred Helps Australia Regroup After An Early England Ashes Onslaught.
In the wake of that frenzy of Perth and Brisbane's pink-ball spectacle, a more familiar brand regarding red-ball cricket was witnessed at the Adelaide ground. For the delighted South Australian fans, it was one to savour, as their boy Alex Carey notched up an outstanding hundred on his home ground to help the home side just shade day one.
Not that England, trailing 2-0 and clinging on in this series, were too downbeat. Skipper Ben Stokes had lost what appeared an ominous coin toss and, despite being not perfect, his bowlers kept toiling in 35c conditions. At stumps, the Australians had reached 326 for eight from 83 overs bowled – runs on the board but surely short of their ambitions after captain Pat Cummins won the toss first thing.
Jofra Archer Leads England's Effort.
The standout among the tourists proved to be Jofra Archer. Returning figures of 3/29 off 16 overs constituted a strong riposte to some of criticism that came his way. Here he visibly led the attack, averaging 88mph (142kph) with the speedometer and offering Stokes a combination of accuracy together with obvious menace. It was only towards the very end of the day – during a single over using the second new ball – did he look somewhat weary.
Having dismissed opener Jake Weatherald early on, the fast bowler's first over post-lunch accounted for Marnus Labuschagne followed by Cameron Green in the space of three balls. Green's golden duck was a stark reminder that cricket can bring even a celebrated player back down to earth, his tepid chip shot to the mid-wicket fielder arriving barely a day following securing a record ÂŁ1.5m deal in the IPL.
Carey's Priceless Innings Steadies The Innings.
Alex Carey's performance, in contrast, was simply invaluable, culminating around 4.48pm as he drove Ben Stokes through cover for three runs and the Adelaide faithful rose in a huge roar. Coming off that virtuoso outing with the gloves at the Gabba, the left-hander's aggressive 106 from 143 balls ensured that a post-lunch wobble to 94/4 did not become a complete crisis. At 34, Carey has become a serious Test match player nowadays.
Australia did leave some runs out there, though. Absent was that pronounced bounce from the first two Tests and in its place only a fraction of nibble when a good length was hit.
There was also a bit of turn for Will Jacks, although his control was that of a part-timer – resulting in figures of two for 105 from his 20 overs – and the balls he did get to turn sharply will encourage Nathan Lyon.
Emotional Backdrop with Late Team Change.
This was inevitably an emotional occasion for Australia, coming so soon in the wake of the horrific tragic incident at Bondi. A minute's silence before the start of play was perfectly held, broken only by musician a rendition performing a stirring rendition of True Blue.
Earlier, Australia had also been forced into a change from their stated XI. Steve Smith was withdrawn due to feeling dizzy and nausea in the morning – an apparent recurrence of a vertigo issue that has intermittently troubled him since being felled by a Jofra Archer bouncer at Lord's six years ago.
In came Usman Khawaja, a day after many felt his Test career could be finished. Until Carey's heroics, the left-hander had held the innings steady, coming to the crease with the score on 33/2 and crafting a fine 82 from 126 deliveries a day out before his 39th birthday. Stands of 61 with Marnus Labuschagne and 91 runs with Carey were significant.
The Tourist's Mixed Bag Persists.
Archer aside, and despite the energy-sapping heat, it remained yet another disappointing outing for the English bowling attack. Seamer Brydon Carse somewhat continued his inconsistent form from the series, finishing with two for 70 off 13 overs, while the recalled Josh Tongue claimed 1/63 from 15 overs.
Carse was all over the shop when handed sharing the duty of the new cherry early on, no-balling on five occasions yet dismissing Travis Head for just 10 runs courtesy of a sublime catch by Zak Crawley at cover. It rather summed up the day's play for both teams: moments of brilliance interspersed with periods of sloppy play.
