Carey calls on guru to boost deputy claims

True to his football pedigree, Alex Carey enlisted input from an AFL premiership coach ahead of the presentation he made to a panel studded with leadership legends that has now seen him installed at the helm of Australian cricket.

The 27-year-old wicketkeeper revealed today he had sought out former Collingwood captain and Port Adelaide coach Mark Williams – who was an influential figure in Carey’s top-level football career – to shape and sharpen his message for "the most important presentation … in my life".

Carey, who five years ago was delisted by South Australia and faced a future in Adelaide’s Premier Cricket ranks, was today confirmed as co-vice-captain alongside Mitchell Marsh – under the stewardship of Aaron Finch – for Australia’s upcoming three-match T20I series against Pakistan.

An appointment that came after Carey was one of six players nominated by his national peers as the best-credentialled leaders to pilot the Australia men’s team into the post-ball tampering future.

 

In addition to incumbent Test and ODI skipper Tim Paine, that process identified newly identified Test deputies Marsh and Josh Hazlewood, T20 captain Finch and Carey’s South Australia leader Travis Head as the players picked by their on-field peers to show outstanding leadership qualities.

Employing methodology that coach Justin Langer borrowed unapologetically from his experience as a board member with the recently crowned AFL champions West Coast Eagles, those players then stated their case to a panel that included ex-Test greats Greg Chappell and Mark Taylor, and selection chair Trevor Hohns.

Carey felt it would therefore be appropriate to seek some tips from Williams, who was assistant coach at Greater Western Sydney Giants AFL club where Carey captained at under-18 level, prior to making his pitch.

"It was the most important presentation I’ve done in my life, and lots of preparation went into that," Carey said today, shortly after being named among the leadership team for the 14-man T20 squad’s Qantas Tour of the UAE.

"I got some mentoring leading into it from Mark Williams who I worked with in my football days, and that settled me and made me feel more prepared going into the panel.

"I was obviously quite nervous going in there, but to be given the opportunity to present in front of those guys was just a really good experience.

"The panel that we had, with Mark Taylor, Greg Chappell, Justin Langer, were previous leaders of Australian cricket.

"I don’t think daunting is the right word, it was obviously really exciting having that opportunity to go and put my case forward.

"Three years ago I was working my way back into the South Australian set-up, and a couple of weeks ago - to be able to present why I should be a leader of Australian cricket - was really a proud moment.

"We had to look at our vision for the Australian cricket team, values and where I saw Cricket Australia moving forward.

"We’ve got a really good opportunity now with the fresh start of the leaders put into the roles, lots of new faces and obviously Justin Langer, so I guess it’s about the next period of Australian cricket over the next 12 and 24 months."

While key among a vice-captain’s duties is to provide rock steady support for the skipper, Carey admits that has half an eye on Paine’s position.

Not in some Machiavellian plot to oust him as captain, but to be ready and eager to inherit Paine’s role behind the stumps at ODI and Test level should injury or other unforeseen events force the Tasmanian to the sidelines.

Carey concedes his task of pushing for a Test berth might be tougher due to his pre-eminent role in the T20 outfit – with the three matches against top-ranked Pakistan followed immediately by the Gillette Series limited-overs fixtures (three ODIs and a T20) against South Africa in Australia.

Which means the South Australian is unlikely to be available for red-ball duties until the JLT Sheffield Shield competition approaches its mid-season hiatus in December.

"Hopefully I don’t play too many Shield games this year and I’m in the (Australia) white ball set-up, but I guess we’ll wait and see with (naming of) the next one-day squad," he said today.

"But if I’m not, then obviously it’s Shield cricket and I really want to perform there and keep putting pressure on Tim Paine.

"I really want to play cricket for Australia in all formats, and it’s through performance that’s the way to do it."

He will, however, squeeze in a game for his Adelaide Premier Cricket club Glenelg alongside Test-capped seamer Chadd Sayers tomorrow before flying to the UAE with his T20 teammates the following weekend.

That touring party includes several players already in the Emirates for the upcoming two-Test series against Pakistan, among them pace spearhead Mitchell Starc and premier spinner Nathan Lyon who weren’t part of this year’s T20 tri-series tournament in Zimbabwe.

With the ICC’s next World T20 tournament, to be staged in Australia, barely two years away the national selectors continue their search for the best 20-over outfit and have also added Marsh, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Chris Lynn, Adam Zampa and uncapped Ben McDermott to the squad that finished runner-up to Pakistan in Harare.

Missing from that outfit are pace bowlers Kane and Jhye Richardson, allrounders Marcus Stoinis and Jack Wildermuth, top-order batters Head and Nic Maddinson and leg-spinner Mitchell Swepson who has been replaced in the touring party by Carey’s SA teammate, Zampa.

Carey, who kept to Zampa throughout the current JLT One-Day Cup series in which the 26-year-old took 12 wickets from six matches, believes the leggie has added extra pace to his bowling repertoire which is crucial in limited-overs formats.

"He was bowling really well in the JLT Cup this year, so it’s exciting to see him back," Carey said of Zampa’s recall to national colours.

"He was left out of the squad (for Zimbabwe) but he’s gone away and done all the right things to get back into the Australian set-up and it’s the best I’ve seen him bowl in quite some time.

"I’ve spoken to him, he says he’s got a lot more energy through the crease now and I thought he was a little bit quicker, which is a good thing especially in white ball cricket.

"Keeping to (Afghanistan and Adelaide Strikers legspinner) Rashid Khan and these guys, they’ve just got that extra pace through the air and I think he (Zampa) has got that now."