Australia's Alex Carey's Stunning Century Helps Australia Bounce Back From An Early England Ashes Onslaught.

In the wake of the chaos from Perth and Brisbane's day-night spectacle, a more familiar brand regarding the longest format broke out at the Adelaide ground. For the delighted South Australian fans, it was one to enjoy, as their boy the wicketkeeper-batsman delivered an outstanding hundred on his home turf as Australia Australia just shade the opening day.

Not that England, 2-0 down and still fighting in this contest, were entirely disappointed. Ben Stokes had lost what seemed like a crucial coin toss and, despite being not perfect, his bowlers continued persevering in scorching heat. At stumps, Australia were 326-8 from 83 overs – runs on the board yet likely short of initial ambitions after captain Pat Cummins won the toss first thing.

Jofra Archer Leads England's Effort.

The standout among the tourists was speedster Jofra Archer. Returning figures of three for 29 off his 16 overs were a strong answer to some of scrutiny that came his way. On this day he visibly spearheaded the attack, clocking 88mph (142kph) with the speedometer while providing his captain both accuracy and obvious menace. It was only towards the end of the day – one over with the fresh cherry – did he look somewhat jaded.

After bounced out Jake Weatherald early on, Archer's initial over post-lunch accounted for Marnus Labuschagne followed by Cameron Green within just three balls. The all-rounder's duck was a stark reminder of how this sport can swiftly bring a player back down to earth, coming from tepid chip shot to mid-wicket occurring barely a day following trousering a massive multi-million dollar contract in the Indian Premier League.

Carey's Priceless Contribution Rescues The Ship.

Alex Carey's day, in contrast, was simply priceless, peaking around late afternoon as he drove Ben Stokes through cover for three runs and the Adelaide faithful rose with a roar. Coming off that virtuoso outing behind the stumps in Brisbane, the left-hander's aggressive 106 runs from 143 deliveries ensured that a mid-innings stumble to 94 for four failed to develop into a full-blown crisis. The 34-year-old has become a serious cricketer these days.

Australia undoubtedly left a few potential runs out there, however. Gone was the excessive bounce from the first two Tests replaced by only a fraction of nibble if the right area was located.

The pitch also offered a bit of grip to Will Jacks, even if his control was typical of a part-timer – resulting in figures of 2/105 off 20 overs – and the balls he did get to misbehave will encourage Nathan Lyon.

Emotional Context with Late Switch.

This was inevitably a poignant occasion for Australia, arriving so soon after the horrific tragic incident in Bondi. The minute’s silence observed prior to the first ball was immaculately observed, broken only by folk singer John Williams performing a stirring rendition of True Blue.

By this stage, the hosts were also forced into an alteration to their announced starting eleven. Veteran batsman Steve Smith pulled out due to feeling dizzy along with sickness in the morning – seemingly recurrence of a vertigo issue that has intermittently 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 international career could be finished. Before the wicketkeeper's heroics, Khawaja had expertly held the innings together, coming to the crease at 33/2 before crafting a fine 82 from 126 deliveries a day out from turning 39. Partnerships of 61 with Marnus Labuschagne plus another of 91 runs with Carey were crucial.

England's Mixed Bag Persists.

Archer aside, and notwithstanding the energy-sapping conditions, this was still another disappointing outing for the English bowling attack. Brydon Carse somewhat rolled over his form from the series, picking up figures of 2/70 off his 13 overs, while the recalled Josh Tongue picked up 1/63 from 15 overs.

The Durham bowler looked erratic when tasked with sharing the duty of the new ball first thing, no-balling five times yet removing Travis Head for 10 courtesy of a spectacular one-handed catch by Zak Crawley in the covers. This moment summed up the day for both teams: moments of brilliance interspersed with some sloppy play.