Australia's Alex Carey's Stunning Century Assists The Baggy Greens Recover From A Swift England Ashes Charge.

Following that pandemonium of the Perth Test as well as the Gabba's pink-ball palooza, a more traditional brand of the longest format broke out at Adelaide Oval. For the home crowd, it was one to enjoy, with their boy Alex Carey produced a magnificent hundred at his home turf to help Australia edge the opening day.

However, The touring English side, trailing 2-0 while still fighting in this series, could be too downbeat. Ben Stokes had lost what seemed like a crucial coin toss and, despite being not at their best, the English attack kept plugging away under 35c heat. By the close of play, Australia were 326-8 from 83 overs bowled – a total on the board but surely short of initial ambitions after captain Pat Cummins got the choice in the morning.

The Pace of Archer Leads The Tourist's Fightback.

The standout among England was speedster Jofra Archer. Figures of 3/29 off his 16 overs constituted a powerful answer against some of criticism directed at him his way. Here he clearly spearheaded the bowling unit, averaging around 88mph (142kmh) on the speedometer while providing his captain a combination of control and clear threat. Only at the very end of the day – one over with the fresh cherry – did he look somewhat jaded.

Having bounced out opener Jake Weatherald first thing, the fast bowler's first over post-lunch wiped out Marnus Labuschagne followed by Cameron Green in the space of three balls. The all-rounder's duck served as a reminder of how cricket can bring a player back to reality, his weak chip to mid-wicket occurring less than 24 hours after trousering a record multi-million dollar contract in the IPL.

Carey's Priceless Contribution Rescues The Ship.

Alex Carey's performance, however, was simply priceless, culminating at 4.48pm as he elegantly drove Stokes through cover for three runs and the Adelaide faithful rose in a huge roar. Coming off his virtuoso outing with the gloves in Brisbane, his aggressive 106 from 143 deliveries ensured that a post-lunch wobble of 94 for four did not become a complete crisis. The 34-year-old has become a serious Test match player nowadays.

Australia did leave a few runs out there, however. Absent was the excessive pace and bounce from the first two Tests replaced by just a hint of seam movement when a good length was hit.

The pitch also offered a bit of grip for off-spinner Will Jacks, even if his consistency was that of a part-time spinner – hence expensive figures of two for 105 off 20 overs – but the deliveries he did get to turn sharply will encourage Nathan Lyon.

Emotional Backdrop and A Late Team Change.

This was inevitably a poignant day for Australia, coming so shortly in the wake of a devastating terrorist attack at Bondi. The minute’s silence before the start of play was immaculately held, broken only by folk singer a rendition delivering an emotional version of the anthem 'True Blue'.

Earlier, Australia had also been forced into a change from their announced XI. Steve Smith pulled out due to dizziness and nausea first thing – an apparent return of the vertigo that has periodically affected the star batter since being felled by Archer at Lord’s six years ago.

His place was taken by Usman Khawaja, just 24 hours after it was speculated his Test career could be finished. Until Carey's arrival, Khawaja had held the Australian innings steady, walking out with the score on 33/2 and crafting 82 from 126 balls just a day from turning 39. Partnerships of 61 with Labuschagne and 91 with Alex Carey were significant.

The Tourist's Mixed Bag Persists.

Archer aside, and despite the energy-sapping heat, it remained yet another disappointing outing from the English bowling attack. Brydon Carse rather continued his form from the series, picking up figures of 2/70 off 13 overs, and the recalled Josh Tongue claimed 1/63 in 15 overs.

Carse looked all over the shop when tasked with sharing the duty of the new ball early on, no-balling on five occasions yet dismissing Travis Head for 10 courtesy of a spectacular one-handed catch by Zak Crawley at cover. It rather summed up the day for both teams: brilliance mixed with some error-prone cricket.