Alex Carey's Stunning Hundred Aids The Baggy Greens Recover After Early England Test Series Onslaught.

Following the chaos from the Perth Test as well as Brisbane's day-night spectacle, an outbreak of familiar brand of the longest format broke out at the Adelaide ground. For the South Australian fans, it was a day to cherish, as their boy the wicketkeeper-batsman delivered a sparkling hundred on his home ground to help Australia just shade the opening day.

However, England, 2-0 down and still fighting in this contest, were entirely disappointed. Skipper Ben Stokes lost out on what appeared an ominous coin toss and, despite being far from at their best, the English attack continued plugging away under 35c heat. At stumps, Australia were 326-8 off 83 overs bowled – runs on the board but surely short of initial ambitions when Pat Cummins got the choice first thing.

Jofra Archer Leads England's Resistance.

The standout among England proved to be Jofra Archer. Figures of three for 29 off 16 overs were a powerful answer to some of criticism that came this past week. Here he clearly spearheaded the bowling unit, clocking around 88mph (142kmh) on the speedometer and offering his captain a combination of control together with obvious menace. Only at the very end of the day – during a single over using the second new ball – that he appeared somewhat jaded.

After dismissed Jake Weatherald early on, the fast bowler's first over after lunch accounted for Marnus Labuschagne followed by Cameron Green in the space of three deliveries. The all-rounder's duck served as a stark reminder that cricket can swiftly bring even a celebrated player back to reality, his weak chip shot to the mid-wicket fielder occurring less than 24 hours following trousering a record multi-million dollar contract in the Indian Premier League.

The Keeper's Invaluable Innings Steadies The Ship.

Carey's day, in contrast, was simply invaluable, culminating at 4.48pm when he elegantly drove Ben Stokes through cover for three runs and the Adelaide faithful to rise with a roar. Coming off his masterful outing behind the stumps at the Gabba, the left-hander's counterattacking 106 off 143 deliveries made sure that a post-lunch wobble of 94 for four failed to develop into a complete collapse. The 34-year-old has become a genuinely Test match player these days.

The Australian batting lineup undoubtedly left some runs on the field, however. Gone was the pronounced bounce from the opening matches and in its place only a fraction of seam movement when the right area was located.

The pitch also offered some grip to off-spinner Will Jacks, although his consistency was typical of a part-timer – resulting in expensive figures of 2/105 from 20 overs – and the balls he did get to turn sharply will encourage Nathan Lyon.

Emotional Context with Late Team Change.

This was always going to be a poignant occasion for Australia, coming so shortly after a devastating tragic incident at Bondi. The minute’s silence observed before the start of play was perfectly held, followed by musician a rendition performing an emotional rendition of True Blue.

By this stage, Australia were also compelled to make a change to their stated XI. Veteran batsman Steve Smith was withdrawn due to dizziness along with sickness in the morning – seemingly recurrence of the vertigo which has intermittently affected the star batter since he was struck 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. Before the wicketkeeper's arrival, the left-hander had expertly held the innings steady, walking out with the score on 33/2 before finessing 82 off 126 deliveries just a day before turning 39. Stands worth 61 runs with Labuschagne plus another of 91 with Alex Carey proved significant.

The Tourist's Frustration Continues.

Aside from Archer's efforts, and notwithstanding the sapping conditions, it remained still another disappointing day from England’s attack. Seamer Brydon Carse somewhat continued his form from the series, picking up two for 70 from 13 overs, while the incoming Josh Tongue picked up 1/63 from 15 overs.

The Durham bowler looked all over the shop when tasked with sharing the duty of the new cherry early on, overstepping on five occasions but still dismissing Travis Head for 10 thanks to a sublime catch by Zak Crawley at cover. This moment summed up the day's play for both teams: brilliance interspersed with some sloppy cricket.