Hometown heroes Head, Carey push England to the brink in Adelaide

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ADELAIDE, Dec 19 - Travis Head and Alex Carey forged a defiant late stand at their home Adelaide Oval on Friday to all but erase Englands Ashes hopes, the pair leaning on each other through ‍another draining ​afternoon in the heat.

Heads unbeaten 142 and Careys stubborn 52 ‍not out helped Australia reach 271 for four at stumps and extend their lead to an imposing 356 runs.

After the pair ​exited ​at stumps to a standing ovation from a delighted Adelaide crowd, Head said fellow South Australian Carey had given him the energy to carry on despite fatigue setting in.

Yeah, hes playing well, so hes ‍probably kept me up and about there, Head told reporters of Carey, who scored 106 in the ​first innings.

The last 40-45 minutes, I started (to) waver ⁠a bit. I was pretty stuffed.

We dont really talk much, but you can sense his energy at the crease. You can sense his desire for us to get to stumps ... I was just trying to get through each ball and trying ​to be there for him.

So, yeah, we dovetailed off each other really, really well today.

Australia hold a 2-0 lead in the ‌series and need only a draw in ​Adelaide to retain the urn as holders.

Adelaide Oval is generally Australias best batting wicket so the hosts will want to be sure to bat England out of the game while leaving enough time for their bowlers to grab 10 wickets.

Head said he thought the wicket was deteriorating but not to the point where he was comfortable writing off Englands chances.

Australia were playing the long game, he added, hoping