Attribute it to destiny, fortune, or a quirk of probability, whatever your preference. Should Australia's first day in Adelaide was a puzzle tossed into the air, the majority of the pieces landed the right way up and in the correct place. It's been a familiar theme for the home side in this series: dominated by England's attack in Perth, only to orchestrate an more dramatic collapse; stumbling in Brisbane, saved by the tail.
For another day, the pattern continued: whether it was questionable catching or unreliable technology, things keep working out for the Australians.
England, in contrast, arrived with a strategy built on the belief that they couldn't win in Australia with pace bowlers and a keeper standing close, then lost to lose to that very attack with a wicketkeeper in close. England was given the gift of a missing Pat Cummins, no Josh Hazlewood, no Nathan Lyon and still managed to suffer two defeats in six days. Their next match brought the next gift: Steve Smith being absent with an ailment, their very own Ghost of Ashes Past replaced in the batting lineup by a creaking, struggling opener whom Australia had already tried to omit.
Out of courtesy, England felt compelled to drop him too. At slip, on just five, when the score would have been 50 for three. Just a few hours before, Usman Khawaja's career had been all but finished, with the panel unveiling a new option called the Travis Head Dashing Opener™. Two hours later, Khawaja had been given two lives, initially by Smith's balance issues, then by Harry Brook's lack of balance at slip.
A Unshackled Innings from the Number Five
The move down the order had only spared him nine overs at the top, but that ensured he almost entirely dodged Jofra Archer's fierce opening burst, a possibly decisive non-matchup given Khawaja's recent struggles against quality pace. Liberated, with nothing to lose, Khawaja produced his most assured and confident knock since his previous return through the middle order in 2022.
The other seamer was not much slower than Archer, but Khawaja picked off his mistakes while exploiting Ben Stokes's short ball to get his signature pull shot going. He saw Will Jacks's vulnerability as a day-one spinner and attacked him accordingly. He compiled a fifty after lunch, amid a crucial rebuild with Alex Carey after some early wickets.
Smith may be Australia's best bat in historical context, Carey might be their most in-form one right this moment, after his another hundred this year.
A Chance Gone, but Impact Made
There remains a strong possibility of this being Khawaja's last Test, with Smith to come back and the rest of the order unlikely to change, so a hundred that could have been both comeback and farewell would have been a remarkable tale. But straining against the constraints of age left it just out of reach. A legendary captain in his last Test was fighting the dying of the light, hoping for one last ton, out instead slog-sweeping a spinner to deep midwicket. Khawaja, six months older, was out slog-sweeping a spinner to deep midwicket for 82.
Nevertheless, it was defining for the side, and further proof of how discombobulation hasn't bothered these Australians. Lose your top batter minutes before the match? The stand-in steps up. A unorthodox lineup to follow? No problem either.
The Wicketkeeper's Local Triumph
Carey as wicketkeeper would usually bat at No 7, while the original idea at the outset was to establish Cameron Green at No 6. The vacancy created by Travis Head's move was at No 5. And yet, instead of filling that gap, Australia inserted Inglis at No 7 and promoted Green and Carey up.
It seems normal about positioning an current keeper ahead of an specialist batter who keeps wicket, but on this day it worked, maybe because Carey was unburdened in the first innings. He did get the hundred that Khawaja missed, accumulating runs in his usual positive way, creating a massive Adelaide moment as local supporters swelled the standing room areas.
Ultimately, he shepherded Australia's score from 85 when he arrived to 321 when he was out, and more might be added for the tail on the second morning. Smith was absent, most of the leading batters made scores of little substance, yet Australia are still on top, with a significantly larger total than seemed probable at multiple points.
The visitors' sole route to alter this dynamic is a powerful reset: take two wickets, bat for a long time in the scorching conditions. Anything else leaves it up to chance, or fortune, or a quirk of statistics. It's unwise to rely on any of them.
