At 11.15 am on Tuesday, Alex Carey walked to the back of the nets at the Adelaide Oval with his son Louis in tow. He got the seven-year-old to sit there and admire the pace of Jhye Richardson as the Western Australian steamed in and bowled at Marnus Labuschagne. For the record, Louis was quite impressed. A few minutes later, the Careys were on their way out, with a day in the pool and some Mexican takeaway to look forward to for the rest of the day. Home Test indulgences as he'd put it.

It was around the same time Usman Khawaja was bringing his 40-minute-long batting stint to an end in the nets. It was mainly throwdowns while facing an ageing ball. And before leaving, there was a fist bump with head coach Andrew McDonald and the briefest of chats with selector Tony Dodemaide. Not too long after, Pat Cummins would officially rule Khawaja out of the third Test in Adelaide while naming the original playing XI.

Just over 24 hours later, Khawaja was joined in the middle of the Adelaide Oval by Carey. Australia had just been dealt a double blow by Jofra Archer to kick off the second session. And as the Australian wicket-keeper sprinted out to bat like he does, England had somehow managed to get themselves on top despite having lost the toss on a steamy summer's day in Adelaide with the hosts deciding to bat first on a rather batting-friendly pitch.

Already behind 0-2 in the series, this could well have been the perfect setup for England's chances of a comeback to wilt away for good in the 36-degree heat. But somehow it happened to be a day where Ben Stokes and his team kept themselves in the contest, and thereby in the series.

It was in keeping with how the action played out overall on the opening day of the Christmas Test.

To start with, Khawaja had somehow managed to make it back into the Test team. He'd then somehow received a massive reprieve after a rather unconvincing start to his stay at the crease. Harry Brook had dropped a rather straightforward chance at second slip after the veteran left-hander had flashed at a wide, full delivery from Josh Tongue.

It proved to be a rather dramatic turning point for Khawaja in what was already the latest swerve in his incredibly rollercoaster Test career. If not for Steve Smith struggling with a recurrence of a vertigo issue, Khawaja's Test career might well have hung in the balance. But he'd instead received a late SOS to bat at No 4. As it turned out, he'd end up taking it with both hands, especially after he'd got away with his big batting error after facing 27 balls for his 5.

He capped it with an aggressive knock of 82, which not only saved the blushes for the Aussies in Adelaide, but also one that showed glimpses of the Khawaja of old. Especially the Khawaja that made a heroic return to this format four years ago at the SCG and played his cricket with gay abandon. Like a man who was going about his life presently without any concern about the future rather than a man who'd let concerns over his future dictate how he was living his life presently.

None of that with the way Khawaja scythed balls through the point region or pulled them past the square leg fielder for boundaries. Or in the way he swept Will Jacks' off-spin before finally succumbing to the shot.

If anything, it came as a surprise that we were eventually denied the chance to witness what would have been the latest entry into the "only Khawaja could have scripted it" book of Test centuries.

Instead, it was hometown hero, Carey, who ended up raising his bat after having scripted the most glittering, and probably the most emotional, chapter of his rather impressive Test career. And as the Adelaide faithful, over 50,000 of them, roared 'Car-eyyy Car-eyyy Car-eyyyy,' the Australian wicket-keeper would also point his bat towards the heavens to pay tribute to his late father Gordon who passed away as recently as September.

It was a classic Carey innings. Counterattacking, energetic, and busy. Both in the way he took on the English bowlers but also in the way he maintained the tempo even while others kept getting in and getting out. After having lived in his state-mate Travis Head's shadow in all four of his home Tests so far, this was Carey's moment to shine. And he lapped up the spotlight to the great delight of every Australian at the Adelaide Oval on a day that started on a sombre note with John Williamson performing his epic number, True Blue, to pay tribute to the innocent lives lost in the Bondi Beach tragedy.

Though Carey did get to three figures, he too was guilty of getting out to a false stroke off Jacks, just when it looked like he could turn his century into a much bigger score with Mitchell Starc, as always, providing stellar support at the other end.

It meant that England still finished the day on parity when you consider the forecast for extreme temperatures for Thursday. That is if they can get rid of the last two Australian wickets and then produce their best batting performance so far in this series on what should be the best surface for them to do so. On a day that could well end up either sealing the Ashes for Australia or launching England's dramatic comeback into the series, which would be in line with Khawaja somehow walking out to bat at No 4 at the Adelaide Oval on Wednesday.