Australia's Alex Carey's Stunning Century Helps The Hosts Recover From A Swift England Ashes Charge.

Following that chaos of Perth as well as Brisbane's day-night palooza, an outbreak of familiar style of red-ball cricket was witnessed on the turf of the Adelaide ground. For the delighted home crowd, it was a day to savour, with homegrown talent the wicketkeeper-batsman notched up a sparkling century on his home ground as Australia the home side edge day one.

However, England, trailing 2-0 while clinging on in the series, were entirely downbeat. Ben Stokes lost out on what appeared an ominous toss and, despite being not perfect, his bowlers kept plugging away in sweltering conditions. By the close of play, the Australians were 326 for eight from 83 overs – runs on the board yet likely short of initial expectations after captain Pat Cummins got the toss in the morning.

Jofra Archer Leads The Tourist's Resistance.

The standout for England was speedster Jofra Archer. Returning figures of three for 29 from 16 overs were a powerful answer to the scrutiny that came his way. On this day he visibly spearheaded the attack, clocking around 88mph (142kph) on the speedometer while providing Stokes both control and obvious menace. It was only towards the end of the day – during a single over using the second new ball – that he appeared a bit jaded.

Having bounced out Jake Weatherald first thing, Archer's initial over post-lunch accounted for Marnus Labuschagne and Cameron Green in the space of three deliveries. The all-rounder's duck was a stark reminder of how cricket can bring even a celebrated player back to reality, his tepid chip to mid-wicket occurring barely 24 hours following securing a massive £1.5m deal in the Indian Premier League.

Carey's Invaluable Innings Steadies The Ship.

Carey's day, in contrast, was nothing short of invaluable, culminating around late afternoon as he elegantly drove Ben Stokes through the covers for three and the crowd to rise with a roar. Fresh from that masterful display with the gloves at the Gabba, his aggressive 106 runs from 143 balls made sure that the mid-innings stumble of 94/4 failed to develop into a full-blown collapse. At 34, Carey is a genuinely cricketer nowadays.

The Australian batting lineup undoubtedly left some runs out there, however. Gone was the pronounced bounce from the opening matches and in its place just a hint of seam movement if a good length was hit.

There was also some turn for off-spinner Will Jacks, although his consistency was that of a part-time spinner – resulting in figures of 2/105 from 20 overs – but the deliveries he did get to misbehave will give hope to Nathan Lyon.

Solemn Context and Late Switch.

This was inevitably an emotional occasion for Australia, arriving so shortly in the wake of the horrific tragic incident at Bondi. A minute's silence before the start of play was perfectly observed, broken only by folk singer John Williams performing a stirring rendition of the anthem 'True Blue'.

Earlier, the hosts were also compelled to make an alteration to their announced starting eleven. Veteran batsman Steve Smith pulled out after reporting dizziness and nausea in the morning – seemingly return of a vertigo issue which has intermittently affected him since being felled by Archer at Lord's years back.

His place was taken by Usman Khawaja, a day after many felt his Test career may be finished. Until Carey's arrival, Khawaja had expertly held the innings together, coming to the crease with the score on 33/2 and crafting a fine 82 from 126 deliveries a day out from his 39th birthday. Stands of 61 with Labuschagne plus another of 91 runs with Carey were crucial.

England's Mixed Bag Continues.

Aside from Archer's efforts, and notwithstanding the sapping conditions, this was yet another frustrating outing from England’s attack. Seamer Brydon Carse rather continued his inconsistent form of the first two Tests, picking up figures of 2/70 from 13 overs, while the recalled Josh Tongue picked up one for 63 in 15 overs.

The Durham bowler was erratic when handed sharing the new ball early on, overstepping five times yet dismissing Travis Head for 10 courtesy of a sublime one-handed catch from Zak Crawley in the covers. It rather encapsulated the day for both teams: brilliance interspersed with periods of error-prone play.