ADELAIDE, Australia — Alex Carey posted a hometown hundred and Usman Khawaja scored 82 after a dramatic, last-minute recall to help Australia reach 326 for eight at stumps on a hot opening day of the third Ashes test.
Paceman Joffra Archer (3-29) took three big wickets, including two in three balls immediately after lunch, and spinner Will Jacks (2-105) dismissed Australia's two leading scorers to give England a slight edge Wednesday in conditions that were ideal for batting.
Carey shared partnerships of 91 with Khawaja, who replaced Steve Smith at late notice, 59 with Josh Inglis, 26 with Pat Cummins and 50 with Mitchell Starc to keep Australia's innings moving at around four runs an over. He was out just before stumps for 106, mistiming a slower ball from Jacks.
Mitchell Starc, voted player of the match in the first and second tests, continued his impressive form against England and was unbeaten on 33 at stumps.
The temperature topped 35 Celsius (95 Fahrenheit) on Wednesday and is forecast to get close to 40C (104F) on Day 2, which could make conditions tough on the bowling team.
The crowd of 56,298, a record for a test match at the Adelaide Oval, helped Carey thrive.
“A decent day's cricket. The crowd — 56,000 in Adelaide — it's pretty special,” Carey said. “To make a hundred here in front of home fans and family, it was a great moment.”
Changing roles
Carey played a key role in one of the most contentious moments in recent Ashes history when he stumped England's Jonny Bairstow in the acrimonious 2023 series. Carey threw down the stumps when Bairstow wandered out of his crease without checking if the ball was dead, a dismissal that ignited a storm across the cricketing world with Australian players verbally abused in the members' Long Room at Lord's and political leaders weighing in.
After scoring his first Ashes century, which he dedicated to his late father and his family, Carey said in a TV interview he'd probably rather discuss the 2023 episode than dwell on the emotions of his big innings.
“I love playing cricket and I understand what comes with playing professional sport,” Carey said. "You’re not always going to be liked. There’s heroes and villains — that’s all part of the game.”
Later, Carey was again involved in a controversy after England remained convinced that Carey was out, caught behind, when on 72. England reviewed the initial not out decision but Carey survived as replays showed a noise spike before the ball had reached his bat.
The technology’s operators, BBG, conceded after play ended that an operator error was most likely.
“Given that Alex Carey admitted he had hit the ball in question, the only conclusion that can be drawn from this, is that the Snicko operator at the time must have selected the incorrect stump mic for audio processing,” BBG founder Warren Brennan said in a statement.
“In light of this, BBG Sports takes full responsibility for the error.”
Smith sidelined
Smith led Australia to eight-wicket wins in Perth and Brisbane in the absence of Cummins. He hit the winning runs in Brisbane as Australia took a 2-0 lead in the five-match series, leaving England needing a victory in Adelaide to have any chance of reclaiming the Ashes.
But Smith didn't recover in time from dizziness and nausea to start the third test, allowing Khawaja to return the lineup on the eve of his 39th birthday.
After Cummins won the toss and elected to bat in his first test since sustaining a back injury in July, Australia's new opening partnership of Travis Head and Jake Weatherald was coasting against some fairly wayward bowling from Brydon Carse.
But Archer struck in his fifth over, cramping Weatherald (18) with a short ball at almost 148 kph (92 mph) and getting a top edge to fly up for an easy caught behind.
Brydon Carse took a wicket on the first ball of the next over as Australia slumped to 33-2, with Head (10) reaching for a drive and brilliantly caught by Zak Crawley low to the ground at short cover.
Khawaja had a reprieve on 5 in the 16th over when Harry Brook put down a catch at second slip. The veteran batter then rallied in innings-building partnerships with Labuschagne and Carey before lofting a slog-sweep Jacks directly to Josh Tongue in the outfield late in the middle session.
Armbands in Bondi tribute
Players on both teams wore black armbands to honor the 15 people killed and dozens injured in an antisemitic attack on Sydney's iconic Bondi Beach on Sunday that targeted the Jewish community celebrating the start of Hannukah.
Police described the mass shooting as a terrorist attack inspired by Islamic State.
Flags were flown at half-staff on Day 1 at the Adelaide Oval, where folk singer John Williamson performed his fabled song “True Blue” in a pre-match program that included a moment’s silence, the Indigenous “Welcome to Country” and the national anthems.
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