Alex Carey doesn't believe his axing from the ODI side should impact his position in the Test team as Australia prepares for its upcoming home series against Pakistan and West Indies.
The wicketkeeper was dropped for Josh Inglis after scoring a duck in the opening Cup match against India.
Inglis didn't set the world on fire with the bat, scoring 159 runs at 19.87, but claimed a World Cup final record with five catches.
READ MORE: Tszyu takes title after surviving early 'roadblock'
READ MORE: The memory that sparked Tszyu's insane recovery
READ MORE: Golf rocked as Masters champ considers $572m carrot
Throughout the Ashes, Carey kept his Test spot with Queenslander Jimmy Pierson his back-up.
Speaking on The Grade Cricketer podcast, Queensland teammate Matthew Renshaw revealed Pierson almost debuted at Headingley when Carey was hit in the head by Mark Wood.
"I spoke to him after … he was very, very close to playing which would've been an amazing story," Renshaw said.
Five matches into the Sheffield Shield, Pierson is currently fifth on the leading run-scorers list with 361 runs at 40.11.
Carey said his focus is on Sheffield Shield with South Australia as he looks to keep his place in the Test side.
"I don't feel like one-day and Test cricket overlay, so we'll wait and see when Test selection comes out, but I'm looking forward to getting out there Tuesday and having a hit with the red ball for the Redbacks and then see what happens," he said when arriving back from India.
"I'm looking forward to getting back out there and playing … I'm smashing them in the nets, I think I've scored about 500 in the nets, so I'm feeling good.
"You never want to get dropped in any format, and unfortunately after the first game I didn't get back out there, but I thought I held myself around the group pretty well."
Having only played one game in the tournament, Carey did admit to a strange feeling when asked how it felt sitting on the sidelines as Australia won the final.
"Yeah, it was (weird) … obviously I would've loved to have been out there and be part of the XI, but (to) experience a winning World Cup, although not to be part of the XI it was still really special," he said.
"It was two months away with a group that's had an amazing year – as we look back, we've won a World Test Championship, retained the Ashes and now we've won the World Cup.
"(I tried to) be the best 12th man that I can be, I thought I did that pretty well … the boys were hydrated. You're still part of the cricket team, it's something you dream of. I still found it really enjoyable."
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.