Alex Carey takes break from cricket ahead of Australia’s tour to Pakistan

Australian cricketer Alex Carey has taken a break from the game before Australia embark on their tour of Pakistan. The wicketkeeper-batter has cited his desire to spend time with his family as the reason behind the hiatus. It must be noted that the 30-year-old has been involved in five months of non-stop cricket action commencing with the Marsh Sheffield Shield, Australia’s premier first-class tournament.

The cricketer has been moving in Covid-19 bubbles from one assignment to the next. Carey played six Shield games before reporting to national duty for the 2021-22 Ashes series. Having featured in each of the five Ashes Test matches, the South Australian then played five Marsh One-Day Cup matches and rounded his long-playing season with three Big Bash League games, for the Adelaide Strikers.

“There’s no more games of cricket for me until we get to Pakistan, “I’ll just spend this week with the family, heading down south, staying away from everyone to minimise contact and then jump on the plane to Melbourne and then Pakistan,” said Carey to cricket.com.au

“I’ll do some running and probably find time to have a catch and a hit throughout the next week, but a lot of it will be family time ahead of the next couple of months. And just put my feet up — hopefully take my mind totally off cricket for five or six days,” added Carey.

The left-handed batter, who was not Australia’s first choice wicketkeeper before the Ashes, had to be swiftly called up to the national squad owing to a sexting scandal that the then wicketkeeper and captain Tim Paine got involved in.
Paine, who took an indefinite break from all forms of cricket just days before the Test series had to commence, was replaced by Carey as the wicketkeeper ahead of another possible prospect in Josh Inglis.

We need to prepare for spin-friendly conditions: Alex Carey

Though he did face some criticism for blowing hot and cold behind the stumps, Carey has stated that he is focused on Australia next assignment in the sub-continent, and is looking ahead to the preparations.

“Preparing for the most difficult scenario from our perspective would mean preparing for spin-friendly conditions. If you prepare for that, but then come up against something different — if they’re quick-friendly pitches that are a bit harder and bouncy — then we’ve all experienced more of those conditions here in Australia than the spinner-friendly ones.”

“But we’ll probably get a taste of all of those at some stage, and I have no expectations. It’s more just the excitement to get over there and have a week or so lead-in to that first Test — catch balls, hit balls, face spinners, face quicks, face the reversing ball,” he said.

“For me it’s just continuing to build, and to keep having those close relationships with the spinners that is very important. It’s going to be interesting, and exciting,” Carey added.

Australia takes on Pakistan in the first of the three Test matches in Rawalpindi, beginning March 4. The test series will be followed by three ODIs and a lone T20I.