Alex Carey has paid tribute to his late father after rescuing Australia with an emotional hometown hundred on the first day of the Adelaide Test.

The South Australian star took his helmet off and looked to the heavens after reaching his century at Adelaide Oval on Wednesday as his wife Eloise, sobbed in the stands.

It was the first time Carey had reached the milestone — and his first match in front of family and friends — since his father Gordon died after a battle with Leukaemia in September.

“To make a hundred here in front of home fans and family was special,” Carey said.

“I’ll try not to tear up, but it was great and to have Mum, brother, sister, Eloise, the kids (here) it was a great moment.

“Dad played the biggest role probably in my cricket, he coached me all the way through as Dads want to do, and kind of let me go as I got into my older teenage years.

“He would always shoot a message like ‘put the reverse sweep away’ and keep hard on me.

“It was a special moment for myself, but for the family too I reckon.”

Carey’s 106 off 143 pulled Australia out of trouble and lifted the hosts to a stumps score of 8-326 in the third Ashes Test.

It leaves England — who are already 2-0 down in the series — teetering on the edge of a complete Ashes disaster.

Australia’s score comes after a morning of chaos, where batting master Steve Smith was ruled out of the Test with illness just an hour before the first ball was bowled.

Smith was suffering from vertigo-like symptoms, including nausea and dizziness, in the days before the match and hadn’t recovered in time.

It handed under-fire veteran Usman Khawaja a shock recall to the side. Khawaja, who turns 39 on Thursday, cashed in on his reprieve by making 82, which is his highest Test score in Australia since in two years.