Wicketkeeper Alex Carey's Sparkling Ton Helps The Hosts Regroup After An Early English Ashes Charge.

In the wake of that chaos from the Perth Test as well as the Gabba's pink-ball palooza, an outbreak of familiar style of red-ball cricket broke out on the turf of the Adelaide ground. For the delighted home crowd, the day proved a day to cherish, with homegrown talent the wicketkeeper-batsman delivered a sparkling century at his home turf to help Australia edge the first day's play.

However, The touring English side, 2-0 down while clinging on in this series, could be too disappointed. Skipper Ben Stokes lost out on what seemed like an ominous toss and, despite being not perfect, the English attack kept persevering under 35c conditions. By the close of play, Australia were 326 for eight from 83 overs – a total on the board yet likely below their ambitions after Pat Cummins won the toss in the morning.

Jofra Archer Stands Out For The Tourist's Resistance.

The standout among the tourists proved to be speedster Jofra Archer. Figures of 3/29 off 16 overs were a strong response against the scrutiny directed at him this past week. Here he clearly led the attack, clocking around 88mph (142kmh) on the speed gun while providing Stokes a combination of accuracy together with obvious menace. It was only towards the end of the day – during a single over using the fresh cherry – did he look somewhat jaded.

Having bounced out 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. Green's golden duck was a stark reminder that cricket can bring a player back down to earth, his weak chip shot to the mid-wicket fielder occurring less than 24 hours after securing a massive multi-million dollar contract in the Indian Premier League.

Carey's Priceless Innings Steadies The Innings.

Alex Carey's performance, however, was nothing short of invaluable, culminating at 4.48pm as he elegantly drove Stokes through the covers for three which prompted the Adelaide faithful rose with a roar. Fresh from that masterful outing behind the stumps at the Gabba, the left-hander's aggressive 106 runs off 143 balls made sure that the post-lunch wobble to 94/4 failed to develop into a complete crisis. At 34, Carey is a genuinely cricketer nowadays.

The Australian batting lineup undoubtedly left a few runs on the field, however. Gone was that pronounced pace and bounce from the first two Tests and in its place only a fraction of seam movement when a good length was located.

There was also a bit of turn for off-spinner Will Jacks, although his control was that of a part-timer – resulting in figures of two for 105 off his 20 overs – and the balls he did get to turn sharply will give hope to Australia's own spinner, Nathan Lyon.

Solemn Backdrop and A Late Switch.

The day's play was inevitably an emotional day for Australia, coming so soon after a devastating terrorist attack at Bondi. A minute's silence before the start of play was perfectly observed, followed by musician John Williams delivering a stirring version of True Blue.

Earlier, Australia had also been forced into an alteration from their stated starting eleven. Veteran batsman Steve Smith was withdrawn after reporting feeling dizzy along with sickness in the morning – an apparent recurrence of a vertigo issue which has intermittently affected the star batter ever since he was struck by Archer at Lord’s years back.

In came Usman Khawaja, a day after it was speculated his Test career may be over. Before Carey's arrival, the left-hander had expertly held the Australian innings steady, coming to the crease with the score on 33/2 before finessing 82 from 126 deliveries just a day from his 39th birthday. Stands of 61 with Marnus Labuschagne and 91 runs with Alex Carey proved significant.

England's Frustration Persists.

Archer aside, and despite the energy-sapping heat, it remained still another disappointing outing from England’s attack. Seamer Brydon Carse rather continued his form of the first two Tests, picking up two for 70 off 13 overs, while the incoming Josh Tongue claimed 1/63 in 15 overs.

The Durham bowler looked all over the shop when handed sharing the new ball early on, no-balling on five occasions yet removing Travis Head for 10 courtesy of a sublime catch from Zak Crawley at cover. This moment summed up the day's play for both teams: brilliance mixed with periods of error-prone play.