Australia's Alex Carey's Brilliant Hundred Helps The Baggy Greens Recover From Early England Test Series Charge.

After the frenzy of the Perth Test and the Gabba's pink-ball spectacle, an outbreak of familiar style of Test cricket was witnessed at the Adelaide ground. For the delighted home crowd, it was a day to enjoy, with their boy the wicketkeeper-batsman delivered a magnificent century at his home venue as Australia Australia edge the first day's play.

However, The touring English side, trailing 2-0 while still fighting in the contest, were entirely downbeat. Skipper Ben Stokes lost out on what seemed like a significant coin toss and, despite being far from perfect, his bowlers kept toiling under scorching heat. By the close of play, the Australians were 326 for eight off 83 overs – runs on the board yet likely below their ambitions after Pat Cummins won the toss first thing.

The Pace of Archer Stands Out For England's Resistance.

The standout among England was Jofra Archer. Returning figures of three for 29 from his 16 overs were a powerful answer to the criticism directed at him this past week. Here he visibly spearheaded the attack, clocking around 88mph (142kph) with the speedometer while providing his captain both accuracy together with obvious threat. It was only towards the end of play – one over with the second new ball – that he appeared a bit jaded.

After bounced out Jake Weatherald first thing, the fast bowler's initial over post-lunch wiped out Marnus Labuschagne and Cameron Green in the space of three balls. The all-rounder's golden duck was a reminder of how cricket can bring a player back to reality, coming from tepid chip to the mid-wicket fielder occurring barely 24 hours after securing a massive £1.5m contract for the upcoming IPL.

The Keeper's Invaluable Innings Steadies The Innings.

Alex Carey's performance, however, was simply invaluable, peaking at 4.48pm as he elegantly drove Stokes through cover for three which prompted the crowd to rise with a roar. Fresh from that virtuoso outing with the gloves at the Gabba, the left-hander's counterattacking 106 from 143 deliveries ensured that a mid-innings stumble of 94 for four did not become a complete collapse. The 34-year-old has become a serious Test match player nowadays.

The Australian batting lineup undoubtedly left some runs on the field, however. Absent was that excessive bounce of the opening matches and in its place just a hint of nibble if a good length was located.

The pitch also offered some turn to off-spinner Will Jacks, even if his control was typical of a part-time spinner – hence expensive figures of 2/105 off 20 overs – and the balls that did to misbehave will give hope to Nathan Lyon.

Emotional Backdrop with A Late Team Change.

This was inevitably an emotional day for Australia, arriving so soon in the wake of the horrific terrorist attack at Bondi. The minute’s silence observed before the first ball was immaculately observed, followed by folk singer a rendition delivering a stirring rendition of 'True Blue'.

Earlier, the hosts were also forced into an alteration from their announced XI. Veteran batsman Steve Smith pulled out due to dizziness and nausea first thing – seemingly recurrence of the vertigo which has intermittently troubled the star batter since being felled by a Jofra Archer bouncer at Lord’s years back.

His place was taken by Usman Khawaja, just 24 hours after many felt his international career could be over. Before Carey's heroics, the left-hander had held the innings steady, walking out at 33 for two before crafting 82 from 126 deliveries just a day before turning 39. Stands of 61 with Labuschagne and 91 with Carey were significant.

The Tourist's Frustration Persists.

Archer aside, and notwithstanding the energy-sapping conditions, this was still another disappointing outing from England’s attack. Seamer Brydon Carse rather rolled over his form from the first two Tests, finishing with two for 70 off his 13 overs, and the recalled Josh Tongue picked up one for 63 from 15 overs.

Carse looked erratic when tasked with sharing the duty of the new cherry first thing, no-balling five times but still removing Travis Head for just 10 runs thanks to a spectacular one-handed catch by Zak Crawley at cover. This moment summed up the day's play for both sides: moments of brilliance mixed with periods of error-prone play.