Australian wicketkeeper-batter Alex Carey shared insights about a minor technical adjustment he made to his batting. He believes this adjustment could yield significant results in the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy series against India.
Carey enters this crucial five-match Test series following a remarkable performance in the Sheffield Shield, where he amassed 452 runs for South Australia at an impressive average of 90.40.
“When you play and play and play, you don’t really get a chance to work on too many things. I was able to have a pre-season; it’s always nice to hit more balls.”
Carey explained that the extended playing time often limited opportunities for adjustments. However, the recent pre-season provided him with valuable time to refine his technique.
“I worked on the game and tinkered that a little bit and then just tried to keep a really solid process going into every game. Hopefully, it continues on Friday, but a few slight technical shifts over the last six months I’ve brought in. Not having games coming up for a while, I just mucked around with my hands and found something that felt good.”
He emphasised the subtle nature of the technical changes, achieved through experimentation during the break.
“It’s only slight, but at the moment, it feels like I’m in a good position, reacting pretty well to the ball. Yeah, it did (feel like a eureka moment). I just got my hands up a little bit higher and the bat up to the sky, and from there, just try to react; it did feel good pretty much straight away,” said Carey to reporters in Perth, ahead of the first Test starting on November 22.
Carey was confident about his current form and felt positive about the adjustments.
Josh Inglis, another wicketkeeper-batter, has been included as a reserve batter in the Test squad after scoring two centuries in the Shield.
Carey acknowledged Inglis’ recent form and believes there’s a possibility of both of them being part of the same Test playing eleven in the future.
“We’ve been in lots of squads together now. So it will be great to work alongside Josh; the keepers club’s normally pretty small, so to have one more in there is great and he’s going well, and he’s a mate, which is always a good thing.”
He highlighted the camaraderie within the wicketkeeper’s group and Inglis’ strong form, suggesting a potential scenario where both could feature in the playing eleven.
“He’s come in in great form as well, so if his opportunity does come with the bat, he’ll definitely be ready to go. We’ve played lots of white-ball cricket together, so can definitely happen (here). I understand it’s a unique position to be in.”
Carey acknowledged the unique situation of having two in-form wicketkeeper-batsmen in the squad.
“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,” he concluded.
He concluded by emphasizing his focus on personal performance and contributing to the team’s success.