After the mayhem of pink-ballpaloozas in Perth and Brisbane, a more familiar test cricket erupted at Adelaide Oval. For the locals, they got a taste of young boy Alex Carey scoring a glorious century on home soil to defeat Australia on the opening day.
England, who are clinging on to a 2-0 deficit in this series, cannot be too weak. Ben Stokes lost an eerie toss but his bowlers persevered in the 35 degree heat, albeit far from perfect. At Stamps, Australia were in good shape on the board with 326 for 8 in 83 overs, but certainly fell short of their ambitions when Pat Cummins earned first selection.
One person who stood out among the tourists was Jofra Archer. His figures of 3 for 29 from 16 overs were a strong rebuttal to some of the criticism leveled at him last week. Here he visibly led the attack, averaging 88mph (142km/h) with his speedgun, providing both control and a clear threat to Stokes. It was only at the end of the day, one over with the second new ball, that he looked a little tired.
Archer, who first flicked back Jake Weatherald, swept Marnus Labuschagne and Cameron Green in the space of three balls in the first over after lunch. Less than 24 hours after signing a £1.5 million deal in the Indian Premier League, Green’s duck was a reminder of how cricket can bring players back to earth. His lukewarm chip reached midwicket.
But Carey’s day was truly one of a kind, peaking at 4.48pm when he drove Stokes into three covers and the Crows roared to their feet. Fresh off his virtuoso display with the gloves on at the Gabba, his counterattack was 143-106, and his post-lunch wobble of 4-94 never turned into a full-fledged crisis. The 34-year-old is a serious cricketer these days.
However, Australia conceded several goals. The bounce of the first two tests was gone, replaced by only a portion of the nibble if the appropriate length was found. Will Jacks had a bit of grip, even if his control was that of a part-time spinner, with figures of 2 for 105 from 20 overs. And the ball he cheated on would be an encouragement to Nathan Ryan.
It was always going to be an emotional day for Australia, coming on the heels of Sunday night’s horrific terrorist attack in Bondi. There was a perfect minute of silence before the game, broken only by folk singer John Williams’ stirring rendition of “True Blue.”
By this stage, the host team had also been forced to make changes from their declared squad. Steve Smith withdrew after initially reporting dizziness and nausea, but it appears the vertigo that has affected him intermittently since he was knocked down by Archer at Lord’s six years ago has returned.
Usman Khawaja arrived a day after many felt his Test career might be over. Before Carey’s arrival, Khawaja had been putting together innings since his 39th birthday, throwing 82 of 126 pitches and going 2-for-33 with a walk. Labuschagne’s 61 stand and Carey’s 91 stand were important.
Perhaps he was prompted by local chatter that he was taken into the back of a ute for a farewell lap at the Sydney Cricket Ground in January.
The “free batting” nature of the late call-ups was perhaps more important, but so too was the life on five when Harry Brook took a diving chance at slip.
It was a terrible mistake, but it definitely added momentum to Khawaja’s innings. The left-handed pitcher quickly found his rhythm, flicking gracefully and leading to 10 fours. That was until just before tee time, when the next ball fell by Jacks, he swept the off-spinner into deep square at the back.
Archer aside, this was another frustrating match for England’s attack despite the poor conditions. Brydon Kearse improved rather from the first two Tests, scoring 2 for 70 from 13 overs, while Josh Tan, the next, scored 1 for 63 from 15.
Curse was first given the task of sharing the new ball, causing excitement throughout the store. He overstepped five times but missed Travis Head 10 times thanks to a nice one-handed catch from Zac Crowley in cover. Rather, it summed up the day for both sides. The pomp was interspersed with sloppy cricket.
