Adelaide, Dec 17 (IANS) Australia wicketkeeper batter Alex Carey delivered a batting masterclass on his home ground to guide his team to a strong start on the opening day of the third Ashes Test, as the hosts reached 326-8 here at the Adelaide Oval.

After an early collapse where the hosts found themselves reeling at 94/4, Carey, along with last-minute addition Usman Khawaja, added 91 runs for the fifth wicket to rescue Australia. The 38-year-old left-hander was eventually out on 82 but delivered a fine performance, after being moved down the batting order, hitting several boundaries on the leg side to reach 41 by lunch.

Steve Smith was ruled out of the third Test match with a potential ‘vestibular issue’. Smith’s last-minute withdrawal saw veteran batter Usman Khawaja return to Australia’s XI after missing out on the first two Tests in Perth and Brisbane.

The stand-in captain for the first two Tests of this summer’s Ashes suffered from nausea and dizziness symptoms and missed training on Monday, but returned to bat in the nets on Tuesday morning ahead of the third Test.

He had a brief fitness test on Wednesday morning in the nets but was seen having an intense dialogue with Andrew McDonald and Pat Cummins on the same morning, where the trio appeared to have made a final call on his availability.

Khawaja set the stage for Australia with his 24th half-century at Test level, capitalising on a reprieve when Harry Brook dropped a catch when he was on five. The new No. 4 was eventually dismissed by Will Jacks while trying a sweep shot to deep square leg just before tea.

Although wickets continued to fall from the other end, the wicketkeeper-batter stood his ground to score his third Test century and his first in front of his home crowd. This achievement was meaningful for Carey, who looked skywards in tribute to his late father, who died in September from leukaemia. The 34-year-old also became Australia’s leading run-scorer in Tests this year, overtaking Steve Smith’s 618 runs to rank sixth worldwide for most runs in the format this year.

Josh Inglis looked aggressive but got chopped on his stumps on 32, which included four boundaries. He remains doubtful for the Boxing Day Test once Smith returns to the XI.

Carey was dismissed through an untimely top edge, finishing with a score of 106, but the lower order continues to challenge England as Mitchell Starc, the hero of the first two Tests, stamped his authority with an unbeaten 32 alongside spinner Nathan Lyon (0*), who kept his defence game strong.

Jake Weatherald and Travis Head provided Australia with a strong start, snelising to 0/29 after their first six overs, signalling ominous signs for the visitors. Head was caught spectacularly by Zak Crawley at the covers on 10, and Weatherald edged back to Smith on 18. Marnus Labuschagne, once again, got off to a good start, but Jofra Archer, who was England’s most effective bowler, delivered a two-wicket over, dismissing the right-handed batter and Cameron Green, who recorded his second duck of the series.

Archer finished the day with figures of 3-29 after 16 overs, while Carse and Jacks took two wickets each as Josh Tongue got the wicket of Inglis.

Brief scores: Australia 326/8 (Alex Carey 106, Usman Khawaja 82; Jofra Archer 3-29) vs England

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