Alex Carey's Brilliant Ton Helps Australia Bounce Back After Early England Ashes Charge.

In the wake of the chaos from the Perth Test and the Gabba's day-night palooza, an outbreak of familiar brand regarding Test cricket returned on the turf of Adelaide Oval. For the delighted locals, it was one to savour, with their boy the wicketkeeper-batsman notched up a sparkling century at his home venue as Australia the home side edge the first day's play.

However, The touring English side, trailing 2-0 while clinging on in the contest, were too disheartened. Ben Stokes lost out on what seemed like a crucial toss and, though far from perfect, the English attack continued plugging away under scorching conditions. At stumps, Australia were 326-8 off 83 overs – a total on the board but surely short of initial ambitions when captain Pat Cummins won the choice first thing.

Jofra Archer Leads The Tourist's Effort.

The standout for the tourists was Jofra Archer. Returning figures of 3/29 off 16 overs constituted a strong response against some of criticism directed at him his way. Here he clearly spearheaded the attack, averaging 88mph (142kmh) with the speedometer while providing Stokes a combination of accuracy and clear threat. It was only towards the very end of the day – during a single over with the fresh cherry – did he look somewhat weary.

After dismissed opener Jake Weatherald first thing, the fast bowler's first over after lunch wiped out Marnus Labuschagne and Cameron Green within just three deliveries. Green's duck served as a reminder that cricket can swiftly bring even a celebrated player back down to earth, coming from tepid chip shot to the mid-wicket fielder arriving less than a day following securing a record multi-million dollar contract in the IPL.

The Keeper's Priceless Contribution Steadies The Ship.

Alex Carey's performance, in contrast, was simply priceless, peaking at 4.48pm when he drove Stokes through the covers for three which prompted the Adelaide faithful to rise in a huge roar. Coming off his masterful outing behind the stumps at the Gabba, the left-hander's counterattacking 106 from 143 deliveries ensured that a post-lunch wobble to 94 for four failed to develop into a complete collapse. The 34-year-old is a genuinely cricketer nowadays.

The Australian batting lineup undoubtedly left a few potential runs out there, though. Gone was that pronounced pace and bounce from the opening matches and in its place just a hint of seam movement when the right area was located.

The pitch also offered some grip to Will Jacks, even if his consistency was that of a part-time spinner – resulting in figures of 2/105 off 20 overs – and the balls that did to turn sharply will encourage Nathan Lyon.

Emotional Backdrop and Late Team Change.

This was inevitably an emotional day for Australia, arriving so shortly in the wake of the horrific terrorist attack at Bondi. A minute's silence before the start of play was immaculately observed, followed by musician John Williams performing a stirring version of the anthem True Blue.

Earlier, Australia were also forced into a change to their announced XI. Steve Smith pulled out after reporting feeling dizzy along with nausea in the morning – an apparent recurrence of the vertigo that has periodically troubled the star batter ever since being felled by Archer at Lord’s six years ago.

In came Usman Khawaja, a day after it was speculated his international career could be over. Until Carey's arrival, the left-hander had expertly held the innings together, walking out at 33/2 before finessing 82 off 126 deliveries just a day from his 39th birthday. Partnerships of 61 with Labuschagne and 91 runs with Alex Carey were crucial.

The Tourist's Mixed Bag Continues.

Aside from Archer's efforts, and despite the energy-sapping heat, this was still another disappointing outing for the English bowling attack. Seamer Brydon Carse somewhat continued his inconsistent form of the series, finishing with two for 70 off 13 overs, and the incoming Josh Tongue picked up one for 63 from 15 overs.

Carse looked erratic when handed sharing the duty of the new ball early on, overstepping on five occasions but still removing Travis Head for just 10 runs thanks to a sublime one-handed catch from Zak Crawley in the covers. This moment encapsulated the day's play for both sides: moments of brilliance interspersed with some sloppy play.