England wrapped up the innings before lunch, claiming six wickets in the morning session, but endured an early setback when they came out to bat. With just 10 minutes remaining before the interval, Ben Duckett fell in the second over, edging Pat Cummins to Marnus Labuschagne at second slip for four.
At lunch, England were 5 for 1, with Ollie Pope unbeaten on one and Zak Crawley yet to open his account.
England must win the match to stay alive in the five-Test series after heavy defeats by eight wickets in Perth and Brisbane. Australia, the holders, require only a draw to retain the Ashes.
Ben Stokes’s side face an enormous challenge in chasing 435, a target never achieved at the Adelaide Oval, where the highest successful run chase is 316. The biggest chase in Test history remains the West Indies’ 418 against Australia at St John’s in 2003.
Australia had resumed on 271 for 4, with Head on 142 and Carey unbeaten on 52, and the pair once again made early hay against some wayward bowling. Stokes, who did not bowl on Friday after assistant coach Jeetan Patel said he was “knackered” following a gritty 83 with the bat, opened the attack on Saturday.
Head quickly moved into top gear, reaching his 150 off 205 balls with a cut through backward point, drawing a standing ovation from the home crowd. Chasing a maiden Test double hundred, he continued to attack before pulling a short ball from Josh Tongue to Zak Crawley, who held the catch in the deep under the glaring sun.
Carey added 20 to his overnight score as he eyed back-to-back centuries following his emotional first-innings 106, but was caught at leg slip by Harry Brook off Stokes. Josh Inglis soon followed, edging Tongue to Jamie Smith behind the stumps.
With the new ball taken, Brook grabbed another slip catch to dismiss Pat Cummins for six off Brydon Carse, who then trapped Nathan Lyon lbw with the very next delivery. Scott Boland was the final wicket to fall, caught and bowled cheaply by Jofra Archer, while Tongue finished as England’s most successful bowler with figures of 4 for 70.
