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Perth: Travis Head believes his close friend Alex Carey will transcend the Jonny Bairstow stumping this summer and beyond, declaring Stuart Broad’s sledge – “that’s all you’ll be remembered for” – will not have aged well by the time the wicketkeeper hangs up his gloves.
Carey’s Ashes campaign and its diminishing returns were followed by a difficult World Cup, where he was dropped after the opening game and left in reserve as Pat Cummins’ team went on to lift the trophy.
Alex Carey and Pat Cummins celebrate Jonny Bairstow’s wicket.Credit: Reuters
That decision came as a surprise to Carey. But working in the nets before and during games, the keeper refashioned his method under the watchful eyes of Michael Di Venuto and Andy Flower – once the world’s foremost wicketkeeper/batter – and reset, in the knowledge that the abusive scenes of England would not be repeated at home.
He was also helped by Head’s return to India after a broken hand ruled him out of the early games of the Cup. Earlier this year, Carey had been a sympathetic ear when Head was briefly dropped from the Test team, and his South Australian teammate returned the favour during the tough days of the Ashes and India.
“He definitely won’t be just remembered for that,” Head told this masthead. “At the time, it was heated and people say things that don’t truly represent what’s going to happen. Yes, for a period of time that’s what everyone will refer to. But I think over time, he will create enough good memories and [change] how people think about him.
“But it has been a challenging period for him. From my side of things I just try to keep him as relaxed as I possibly can and to see the bigger picture as well.
Alex Carey training at Perth’s WACA ground ahead of the Test against Pakistan at Perth Stadium.Credit: Getty
“When I got back to India it was a little bit like that – ‘just keep working hard’ – because it hasn’t gone his way the last couple of months, but he’s got a great opportunity here in the Test series this summer.
“Same thing [as when I was dropped], we do have conversations about that, and at least you’ve got someone you know that’s close to you in the team, and you can have different conversations to vent or whatnot.
“We don’t have heaps of those conversations, but I know he’s there for me and I’m there for him.”
When speaking publicly, Carey wears an amiable, smiling mask while specialising in the sorts of lightweight “grabs” common at the AFL press conferences he once expected to be part of as the inaugural captain of the GWS Giants.
Jonny Bairstow and Travis Head.Credit: Getty
But there is no doubting that the relentless abuse and focus of English ire after the Lord’s Test – including the false accusation peddled by former captain Alastair Cook that he had failed to pay for a haircut – had a marked effect.
Early in the tour, Carey and other numerous members of the squad had taken trains to save time on the road. But after Lord’s, Carey travelled only in the team bus or by car; a rare compromise in behaviour by a cricketer used to overwhelmingly friendly interactions in his hometown of Adelaide.
“As a team, we’ve had a couple of Ashes series in a row like that; you’re on the team bus, you travel together,” Head said.
“A little bit different this year with the trains and that, but you’re in that bubble. So you try to stay connected in that bubble, you try not to let anyone in or out, and that’s how you approach things.
“With our relationship, we both enjoy the game and talk about the game, but I think he gets that enough from Marn[us Labuschagne] and Smudge [Steve Smith], so I try to take his mind off things with other things to talk about.”
Since the Ashes, Broad has walked back some of his angry rhetoric on the day, saying much of it was calculated to try to take Australia’s focus off closing out the match.
Bairstow has also had some spiky comments published about the stumping and his views of the Australian team. He and Carey shared a handshake after the World Cup game in Ahmedabad, but no conversation.
“I have seen it still being brought up, which is great; it’s a talking point, it’s awesome. But it is one of those things that will stay in cricket history for a while,” Carey said of Broad.
“Was I surprised he brought it back up? No, he’s in commentary as well now, so it’s stuff to talk about.
“For me, it [my focus] is worry about doing my job behind the stumps, try to score runs and help us win games of cricket, and that’s as deeply as I’m thinking about it.
“We would’ve loved to win that Ashes series, but we retained the Ashes, so the group is in a pretty good place to continue to keep that momentum up.”
Unusually for an Australian team that has developed a forceful sense of self, Carey is a deferential character who has kept up plenty of dialogue with past players and former wicketkeepers. His focused work with Di Venuto and Flower has brought him back to a place where he is determined to dictate terms when he bats.
“At the time, I was surprised to get dropped, [but] I was able to pick my game apart and work with some new faces and different minds in the game,” Carey said. “Having Andy Flower over there, he’s a fantastic bloke, and working with Michael Di Venuto as well was great.
“Just different ways to look at the game, certain areas to score. He [Flower] played the reverse sweep and the sweep, and we spoke a bit about that. My self-belief’s always been really strong. All I can do is control what I can do, and continue to prepare and find ways to get better.”
Head, for one, is expecting a much more decisive Carey this summer. “I’m expecting him to play really well,” he said. “Hopefully, the batters up the top can set some good platforms for him to come out and express himself.”
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