‘The best form he’s been in’ – Carey enters Test summer with plenty of promise

The presence of a white-hot Josh Inglis in Australia’s Test squad at any point last summer might have made incumbent wicketkeeper Alex Carey nervous.

But right now, Carey is arguably Australia’s most relaxed man. He enters the Test series against India as their most in-form player and looms as a potential match-winner with bat and gloves, even with Inglis in the squad for his batting.

Carey, 33, is entering his fourth home summer as a Test player and says he has never felt fresher. No player in the Australian team had a longer layoff without cricket over the winter.

Between his match-winning, and potentially career-saving 98 not out in Christchurch in Australia’s last Test in March, Carey went a full six months without playing a single game. He did go to Major League Cricket but did not play. That stint was part of a pre-season that international players rarely get these days.

The benefits are showing. He posted ODI scores of 74 and 77 not out first up in England on his return to the side in September. He has blasted 90, 111, and 123 not out in the first two Shield matches and 44 and 42 as captain in a low-scoring win in the third. He rounded off his preparation with 75 off 63 in his last One-Day Cup game for South Australia.

The time away gave him space to tinker with his batting. He credits his form, in part, to feeling fresh. But also to a small tweak in his set-up that he made without any input from anyone else.

“When you play and play and play, you don’t really get a chance to work on too many things,” Carey told reporters on Monday ahead of the first Test in Perth. “Not having games coming up for a while, I’ve just mucked around a little bit with my hands and found something that felt good and sort of ran with that.

“It’s only slight, but at the moment, it feels like I’m in a good position and reacting pretty well to the ball. But I think just a bit of time off and a bit of exploring gives you those opportunities.”

The slight change? Simply picking his bat up a little higher in his stance. Carey had noticed in his set-up that his hands and bat were a little low, with the toe of the blade below horizontal and pointing to gully upon the bowler’s release.

It was causing him to feel rushed at times on top of affecting his bat path, and his form had diminished over a period of 14 months between his only Test century in December 2022 and his 98 not out in Christchurch. During that period he averaged just 23.76 across 17 Tests, and lost his ODI place to Inglis after the first game of the 2023 World Cup.

He now has his hands higher, with the toe of the blade pointing over first slip’s head. The results have been phenomenal. He has looked one of the best players in Australian domestic cricket this summer, striking the ball with power and looking like he has so much time at the crease.

The technical tweak has helped his decision-making too. There were times in that 14-month lull when he was playing well but finding ways to get out through poor premeditated decision-making. He now feels less strongly about the need to premeditate.

“I’m just trying to keep a really level and consistent process batting,” Carey said. “I think, at times, potentially getting out in ways with premeditation, which can happen, and trying to do too many things at once. I’m just trying to stay quite clear now and react to the ball and back yourself to make the right decision.”

The addition of Inglis to the Test squad, coming off two Shield centuries himself and some superb white-ball form, is of no concern to Carey either. Inglis has been picked as the spare batter, as cover for the top six rather than Carey. The pair have played ODIs together and did so as recently as in September at Lord’s.

He acknowledged they could play in the same Test XI together at some stage which – as it did in the ODI team – could pave the way for Inglis to pinch his spot down the track. But Carey is pragmatic about the inferred pressure Inglis puts on his role as the No. 1 wicketkeeper.

“I understand it’s a unique position to be in,” Carey said. “There’s one wicketkeeper in a team, and there’s lots of quality around the country who are trying to get that spot and I was one of those players once. You focus on your game. You control what you can control.

“For me, it’s doing my job for this team, hopefully help us win games of cricket and play in this Test team as long as possible.”

His long-time teammate Travis Head believes he’s never seen Carey bat better.

“It’s the best form he’s been in,” Head said. “So for him, it’s trying not to overplay it and not worry about too much. I know he’s not. I think he’s in a great space. Has been for a while and now it’s starting to click for him. And once you sort of capture that form, you want to try to continue it on again. You’re never guaranteed that that happens, but I think he’s going to play a huge role in his position and in this team.”