Reports: Alex Carey to replace Tim Paine behind the stumps for Ashes

South Australian wicketkeeper-batter Alex Carey is set to don the gloves in the upcoming Ashes, after being given the nod ahead of Josh Inglis, a report on watoday.com.au has confirmed.

Australia were left without a designated wicketkeeper in their Ashes squad once Tim Paine announced an indefinite break from cricket to focus on his mental health following his sexting episode with a Cricket Tasmania staffer.

Paine had initially decided to only step down as the Test captain, while he confirmed his availability for the high-octane series against England starting December 8 in Brisbane. However, he later changed his mind and announced the break to leave the Australian selectors with an additional task of picking a wicketkeeper.

Carey, who has represented Australia in 45 ODIs and 38 T20Is so far, was always believed to be the first choice for the role behind the stumps after Paine, although a forgettable time at the Sheffield Shield meant Inglis came into the reckoning as well.  However, the Australia selection panel, led by George Bailley, has decided to hand the baggy green to 30-year-old Carey.

Inglis, meanwhile, was labelled the favourite by multiple senior Australia players, including Shane Warne. “Inglis gets my vote. He’s got silky smooth hands behind the stumps, he’s a 360 degree player with the bat and coming off three first-class hundreds last season for WA. He’s a great team man who I saw first-hand at the London Spirit this year. He’s 26. Bang, get him in,” Warne recently wrote in his Herald Sun column.

Former wicketkeeper Ian Healy also heaped praises on the young Inglis. “Well, I think Carey, I don’t think he’s done anything wrong not to get that job, and he’s just young enough at 30-years-old. Having said that, my selection would have been Josh Inglis. Carey certainly deserves to have a go, but if George Bailey (CA chairman of selectors) and his selectors say, ‘No, we’re going to go young and build the future’, then it looks like Josh Inglis, who has absolutely jammed the door with his foot,” Healy had said recently.