Travis Head and Alex Carey proved to be Australia's atar performers on Day 3 of the Adelaide Test against England. The two played brilliant knocks and got the side into a mammoth lead heading into the fourth day of the match. While Head went on to hit a stunning hundred, Carey also assisted him well with a gritty half-century as the Aussies piled on runs.
England began the day at 213/8 with Ben Stokes unbeaten on 45 and Jofra Archer batting on 30. It was expected that their resistance would fade away on the new day, however they kept on fighting with everything they could. Both the batters decided to adopt a defensive approach and only went for aggressive shots on severely loose deliveries. Stokes soon went on to bring up his fifty and at one stage, looked set to score a hundred.
Starc gets the breakthrough
However, the visitors' resistance was eventually broken by Mitchell Starc, who rattled Stokes' wickets for 83 runs with an absolute ripper and brought an end to the 106-run stand. Though Archer also reached his half-century, he wasn't able to continue his stay on the crease for long as Scott Boland got his scalp for 51 runs. England were bundled out for 286 in their first innings and trailed Australia by 85 runs.
In reply, the hosts had a poor start as Brydon Carse got Jake Weatherald's wicket in the second over. Though the duo of Head and Marnus Labuschagne tried to stabilize the innings with a decent stand, the latter was eventually dismissed by Josh Tongue for 13 runs as Australia went down to 53/2. However, it was Head and Khawaja's partnership that hurt England a lot.
The duo went on to play some exemplary shots and took the team's total comfortably over the 100-run mark. Head soon reached his half-century while Khawaja also looked set to post a big score. But, Will Jacks got the latter's wicket for the second time in the match and sent him back to the pavilion for 40 runs. The 86-run stand was still enough to put the Aussies in command of the match and for England, the worst was yet to come.
Head and Carey's remarkable stand
While Cameron Green did lose his wicket cheaply for 7, the duo of Head and Carey went on to form an incredibly strong partnership that got Australia into a formidable lead. Both the players smacked the opposing bowlers all around the stadium and soon after, Head went on to register his second hundred of the series. However, he didn't stop there and continued to score runs at a good pace.
Carey also reached his half-century during the last few overs as the hosts concluded the day on 271/4, leading England by 356 runs. Head is unbeaten on 142 while Carey is batting on 52 as Australia currently look to be in firm control of the game and it remains to be seen if England will manage to forge a fight back on Day 4.