Usman Khawaja's dramatic Ashes return boosts Australia in third cricket test against England

He shared an unbroken 61-run third wicket stand with Marnus Labuschagne (19) after the Australians lost two wickets in six deliveries.

Smith led Australia to eight-wicket wins in Perth and Brisbane in the absence of regular skipper Pat Cummins. He hit the winning runs in Brisbane as Australia took a 2-0 lead in the five-match series, leaving England needing a victory in Adelaide to have any chance of reclaiming the Ashes.

Khawaja missed the second test with a back injury and, a day before his 39th birthday, may have been considering test retirement after being initially omitted from Australia's lineup.

His prospects changed very quickly when Smith was ruled out because of nausea and dizziness.

After Cummins won the toss and elected to bat in his first test since sustaining a back injury in July, Australia's new opening partnership of Travis Head and Jake Weatherald was coasting at 33 without loss in the ninth over against some fairly wayward bowling from Brydon Carse.

But Jofra Archer struck with the second ball of his fifth over, cramping Weatherald (18) with a short ball at almost 148 kph (92 mph) and getting a top edge to fly up for an easy caught behind.

Carse took a wicket on the first ball of the next over as Australia slumped to 33-2, with Head (10) reaching for a drive and brilliantly caught by Zak Crawley low to the ground at short cover.

Khawaja weathered early pressure from Josh Tongue, who was playing his first test match outside England, before driving at a ball that was moving away and edging to second slip, where Harry Brook put down a catch at chest height in the 16th over.

Khawaja added 36 runs, including six boundaries, after the reprieve. Australia added 44 to the total in the seven overs to the break.

Players on both teams wore black armbands to honor the 15 people killed and dozens injured in an antisemitic attack at Sydney's iconic Bondi Beach on Sunday that targeted the Jewish community celebrating the start of Hannukah.

Police described the mass shooting as a terrorist attack inspired by Islamic State.

Flags were flown at half-staff on Day 1 at the Adelaide Oval, where folk singer John Williamson performed his fabled song “True Blue” in a pre-match program that included a moment’s silence, the Indigenous “Welcome to Country” and the national anthems.

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