Alex Carey struck a fine century, and Usman Khawaja made a composed comeback as Australia reached 326 for eight in 83 overs in the third Ashes Test against England at the Adeliade Oval, Australia, on Wednesday.
It all started with the drama around Steven Smith, who pulled out at the last minute. After winning the toss and electing to bat, Australia found themselves in early trouble as Jofra Archer and Brydon Carse struck quickly to leave Australia at 33 for two in nine overs.
Travis Head (10) was caught by Zak Crawley off Carse and Jake Weatherald (18) edged Archer to wicketkeeper Jamie Smith. Marnus Labuschagne and Khawaja tried to steady the boat, but Labuschagne’s (19) brief stay was ended when he fell to Carse. Cameroon Green, who bagged a whopping Rs 25.2 crore in the Indian Premier League, went for a duck.
In this mess, Carey came to bat and anchored the innings in his own style. His approach combined calm defense with measure aggression, allowing Australia to recover from a precarious 94 for four. Khawaja, who had settled in well, contributed 82 but fell to Will Jacks with the Australian score reading 185.
Carey had to now shoulder the burden of carrying Australia to a competitive score. Under pressure from Jofra and Jack, Carey displayed superb technique and temperament. He got to his half-century in the 52nd over with a sequence of elegant drives, cuts, sweep and punished loose deliveries.
The day virtually belonged to Carey, whose 106 off 143 balls with eight fours and a six was the defining innings of the day.
Even as Archer and Carse kept probing and creating opportunities, Carey’s measured innings ensured the hosts cross the 300-run mark. He was eventually caught by Smith off Jacks for a superb 106. It was a masterful display of composure under fire and earned him a standing ovation from the spectators.
Mitchell Starc with four boundaries reached 33 and Nathan Lyon was unbeaten on zero at stumps.
“It was great to be out there with Mitch. And a decent day’s cricket…56,000 in Adelaide it’s pretty special. To make a hundred here in front of home fans and family was special and, well, I guess you know as well why I was looking to the heavens. I’m trying not to tear up, but no it was great. And to have, mum, brother, sister, Eloise, the kids… it was a great moment. As you mentioned, dad played the biggest role probably in my cricket, coached me all the way through as dads want to do. Sort of let me go once I got into my older teenage years but would always shoot a message and [say] put the reverse sweep away and keep hard on me. It was great. I won’t go into too much depth, but it was a special moment for myself, but for the family too, I reckon,” said Carey after the day’s play.
Brief scores: Australia 326 for eight (Alex Carey 106, Usman Khawaja 82, Mitchell Starc 33 batting; Jofra Archer 3/29) vs England.
