Australia close the day on 326-8, as Alex Carey scores maiden Ashes century and Jofra Archer stars with the ball.
The first few overs of play gave England fans the fear the bowling attack was picking up where they left off in Brisbane.
Brydon Carse in particular was struggling, going for 27 off his first 4 overs. The expensive short and wide bowling was eaten up by the in-form Travis Head.
Matthew Hayden made no effort to hide his feelings, blasting the bowling as ‘rubbish’ on Channel 7’s coverage. England’s tactics saw the shortest opening 5 overs on record at the Adelaide Oval – with 62% of balls pitching at a short or bouncer length.
England only made one change from their first two test, bringing in Josh Tongue for Gus Atkinson
It was a much-maligned short ball that scored the breakthrough for England, Jake Weatherald skying one that the under-pressure Jamie Smith must have been dreaming about lying on the beach in Noosa.
England didn’t have to wait long for the next one. Head flashing at Brydon Carse’s wide delivery and drawing an unbelievable catch low to Zak Crawley’s left. This was the third time this series Carse has claimed Travis Head’s wicket, despite the batsman’s 140 strike-rate in this match-up.
It could have been even better for England had Harry Brook held onto Usman Khawaja’s edge off the bowling of Tongue.
Jofra Archer was the pick of the England bowlers, taking 29-3.
The usual Aussie-opener recovered well, especially to say he only found out he would be replacing Steve Smith an hour before the toss. He and Marnus Labuschagne stabilised the Australian innings to 94-2 at Lunch.
The second session started off to a flyer with a different kind of Archer-Carse partnership. Two dreadful shots in the space of the first three balls by Labuschagne and Green produced the same outcome of Archer (b) Carse (c).
Cameron Green is possibly under some pressure now given his horrendous wicket at the Gabba, but at least he has four million reasons to not be too down right now.
Pressure is building on the IPL’s new $4m man.
Australia recovered well as Alex Carey built on his impressive series, building a 91 partnership with Khawaja that looked settled to take them into tea and beyond.
Khawaja batted well. Leaving most balls outside his off-stump and scoring quick singles from anything that troubles his wicket.
He targeted the part-time spin of Will Jacks well, exploiting the short square boundaries with ease.
It was looking to be a strong innings from a man whose entire test career was up in the air after back spasms were blamed for a poor opening test performance in Perth.
Usman Khawaja had a strong return to the Australia side scoring 82 (126).
Unfortunately for Australia, he wasn’t able to carry the side on his metaphorical back. Ten minutes from tea he played one expansive shot too many, overreaching at one pitching short giving Josh Tongue a catch from his top edge.
The match was leaning towards England’s favour as the home side closed the session at 194-5.
Carey and Josh Inglis began the final session with a steady partnership until Inglis dragged onto his stumps from Tongue’s bowling, bringing returning Australian captain Cummins out to the crease.
Two overs later the most controversial moment of the day came when Carey was given not out for a possible caught behind. England were convinced and Carey’s body language appeared to exude a sense of guilt.
The review showed a spike on Snicko before the ball reached the bat with a flat line as it passed. With the pictures not being conclusive, there was no reason for the umpires to overturn their decision but it raises further questions about the competency of the technology.
Alex Carey celebrates his first century since the death of his father in a touching moment.
We didn’t have to wait long for the next wicket to fall as Cummins flicked an inside edge onto his thigh pad, gifting Ollie Pope a simple catch at short leg.
Carey made the most of his second life, confidently batting his way to a maiden Ashes century. Achieving hero status in Australia with his 2023 Johnny Bairstow stumping, Carey has proved himself to be a vital part of this team and certainly one of the top two men of the series.
He didn’t last long after raising his bat however, suffering the same fate as Khawaja going for a big shot off the bowling of Will Jacks who had just reached his bowling century.
Nathan Lyon was next to the crease, where he and Mitchell Starc comfortably survived the day including three overs with the new ball – leaving Australia on 326-8.
Stokes’ decision to bowl himself with the new ball seemed peculiar when most would have opted for a Archer – Tongue partnership to take down the tailenders. The England captain was the only bowler to go wicketless during the day which possibly clouded his thinking.
All to play for ahead of Day 2.
On the whole England will be happy with that score after losing the toss. They bowled better than they did in Brisbane, but were probably fortunate to get the number of wickets they did thanks to some poor shots by the Australian top order.
Jofra Archer can be happy with his day’s work taking 29-3 from 16 overs, limiting the scoring far more effectively than any of his teammates. Weatherhald, Head, Labuschagne and Green all gave up their wickets cheaply. On a pitch that appears very flat and suiting the batting side, scores of 500+ should be very achievable.
It’s a day that keeps England’s hopes and the series alive, but we’ve seen England collapse from a few strong positions already this series so it will be an intriguing second day.
Player of the Day
Alex Carey: A spirited performance from the Australian wicketkeeper. Fully deserving of his century, and it was a beautiful moment to see him dedicate his knock to his late father.
Moment of the Day
Zak Crawley’s catch:Â The pressure on the England opener has dropped after an improved showing at the Gabba, and he certainly showed no signs of nervousness with a screamer to dismiss Travis Head.
