Alex Carey to lead Australia after Aaron Finch ruled out of West Indies ODIs

Alex Carey is set to captain Australia in the upcoming three-match ODI series against the West Indies to be played at the Kensington Oval, Bridgetown in Barbados. He has replaced Aaron Finch, who has been ruled out after aggravating his knee injuring during the fifth and final T20I.

Finch is, currently, being monitored on a ‘day-to-day’ basis, but chances of his comeback in the ODIs look a tad bleak for the time being. Earlier, Carey was the vice-captain of the limited-overs team, however, later on, the Aussies appointed Pat Cummins for the position across formats.

Carey, who has captained the Adelaide Strikers in the Big Bash League, is ready to take up the mantle at the highest level. Even as he’s grateful to have gotten the chance, he also understands the challenges that come with the responsibility of being a skipper.

Alex Carey grateful and honoured

“I am deeply honoured to be able to lead the team while Aaron recovers. To captain Australia is one of the greatest privileges in sport and an honour I am extremely thankful to receive,” Carey was quoted as saying in ESPNcricinfo.

“Finchy is our captain and we will welcome him back with open arms when he is fully fit, so for now I hope I can fill the role to his extremely high standards. To lead this group against the West Indies in the West Indies is a great challenge and one I very much look forward to for as long as I have the opportunity,” he stated.

Last season, Allan Border, the former Aussie skipper, came down hard on Carey for the latter’s captaincy during Australia A’s match against India at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

“My takeaway is that there’s a lot of really great leaders throughout the country still caring about the game of cricket. For him to answer my call and have a chat about what he saw, was a great learning curve for me,” Carey added.

Carey’s name previously came across as a potential option for captaincy after Tim Paine retires from the purest form. Justin Langer, the Australian head coach, also heaped praise on Carey for showing a great amount of discipline and professionalism.