Chalk it up to destiny, fortune, or a quirk of chance, whatever your inclination. Should Australia's first day in Adelaide proved to be a jigsaw puzzle hurled into the air, the majority of the pieces came to rest face up and in the correct place. It's been a recurring pattern for the home side in this contest: monstered by England's bowlers in Perth, only to orchestrate an more dramatic collapse; stumbling in Brisbane, saved by the tail.
Once again, the trend persisted: whether it was questionable fielding or dodgy equipment, things keep working out for the home team.
England, in contrast, arrived with a gameplan founded on the surety that they could not succeed in Australia with medium-fast seamers and a wicketkeeper standing close, then lost to be defeated by that very attack with a wicketkeeper in close. They were given the gift of a missing Pat Cummins, an absent Josh Hazlewood, no Nathan Lyon and still proceeded to lose twice in six days. Their next match brought the next gift: Steve Smith being absent with an inner-ear problem, their very own Ghost of Ashes Past substituted in the batting lineup by a aging, squinting top-order batter whom Australia had already tried to omit.
Out of politeness, England had to drop him too. At slip, on just five, when the total would have been 50 for three. A couple of hours earlier, Usman Khawaja's career had been all but finished, with the panel unveiling a new option called the Travis Head Dashing Opener™. Soon after, Khawaja had been twice reprieved, initially by Smith's lack of balance, then by Harry Brook's spill at slip.
A Liberated Innings from the Number Five
The demotion the order had only spared him a brief period at the top, but that ensured he largely avoided Jofra Archer's fierce first spell, a possibly decisive missed contest given Khawaja's poor recent years against quality pace. Liberated, with nothing to lose, Khawaja played perhaps his most fluent and composed innings since his previous return through the middle order in 2022.
Josh Tongue was only slightly less rapid than Archer, but Khawaja picked off his mistakes while using Ben Stokes's bouncer to get his trademark pull shot going. He saw Will Jacks's weakness as a day-one spinner and attacked him relentlessly. There was a half century after lunch, amid a crucial rebuild with Alex Carey after some Christmas giveaways.
While Steve Smith is Australia's best bat in historical context, Carey might be their most convincing one right this moment, after his another hundred this year.
A Chance That Slipped Away, but Influence Made
There remains a strong possibility of this being Khawaja's last Test, with Smith to come back and the other batters unlikely to change, so a century that could have been both comeback and send-off would have been a remarkable tale. But pushing against the constraints of age left it too distant. A legendary captain in his last Test was fighting the end, hoping for one last ton, out instead slog-sweeping a spinner to deep midwicket. Khawaja, six months older, was out playing the same shot a spinner to the same fielder for 82.
Nevertheless, it was defining for the team, and another example of how disruption hasn't bothered these Australians. Lose your best bat minutes before the match? The stand-in steps up. A unorthodox lineup to follow? No problem either.
Carey's Local Heroics
Carey as wicketkeeper would usually bat at No 7, while the plan at the outset was to bed in Cameron Green at No 6. The vacancy opened up by Travis Head's promotion was at No 5. However, instead of filling that gap, Australia brought him in at No 7 and promoted Green and Carey a place.
Nothing feels conventional about positioning an current keeper ahead of an specialist batter who keeps wicket, but on this occasion it proved effective, perhaps because Carey was fresh in the initial batting effort. He secured the century that Khawaja missed, accumulating runs in his characteristically positive way, creating a huge Adelaide moment as local supporters filled the standing room areas.
Ultimately, he shepherded Australia's score from 85 when he arrived to 321 when he was dismissed, and further runs are possible for the tail on the second morning. Smith was absent, most of the top seven made scores of little substance, yet Australia are firmly in control, with far more runs than seemed probable at multiple points.
England's only path to change that is a powerful response: claim the remaining wickets, then occupy the crease for a long time in the heat. Any other approach leaves it up to chance, or fortune, or a twist of probability. It's unwise to rely on such things.
