Flexible Carey gives Australia options

As Australia's T20 brains trust mull how best utilise their throng of top-order weapons for next month's tri-series, versatile wicketkeeper Alex Carey proved he has no issues with handling the equally important late-overs hitting role.

Adelaide Strikers made the big call on Thursday evening to shuffle Carey, behind only Hobart Hurricanes breakout star D'Arcy Short on the KFC BBL run-scoring charts, from the opening position he's revelled in this season down to No.6.

The Strikers entered the top-of-the-table clash at the WACA Ground, the venue's last-ever BBL game, knowing a win would give them top spot. But even if they lost they would only drop to second, still giving them a home semi-final.

Coach Jason Gillespie later revealed the reasons behind Carey's shift were two-fold; firstly, it allowed Jono Dean to get accustomed to the opening spot he'll fill in the gloveman's absence when he joins the Australia squad, while secondly, it put Carey into the find-the-fence-from-ball-one role he'll likely fill in the two-and-a-half-week Gillette T20 INTL series featuring New Zealand and England.

While Dean (seven runs off 15 balls) missed out, Carey thrived in his new spot, cracking 25 off 10 balls to lift the Strikers to a competitive 6-137.

But the Perth Scorchers chased down the target in the final over and while the decision not to open with Carey might well have cost the Strikers the chance to host the grand final at the Adelaide Oval, Gillespie didn't regret the call.

"If ever there was a time to experiment a little bit, tonight was the night," the former Test quick said.

"You don't come close to winning trophies with just 11 players. It's got to be a squad mentality, and Alex was all for it.

"Everyone wants to bat up the top of the order in T20s, that's where you face the most balls. 

"(Carey) understood from a team point of view and a squad mentality that it was the right call. He fully supported that."

On the back of a record-breaking JLT Sheffield Shield season and whirlwind beginning to his first full KFC BBL campaign this summer, Carey made his international debut last week when Tim Paine missed the second Gillette ODI against England through illness.

Having spent the majority of his one-day career with South Australia at the top of the order, the left-hander batted at eight and managed 27 off 24 before being run-out.

The likes of Short, stand-in captain David Warner, Aaron Finch, Chris Lynn and Glenn Maxwell all do their best work at the top of the order and are set to jostle for limited positions for T20 series, meaning Carey's flexibility could be a major factor for an Australian side determined to climb up from a lowly seventh on the ICC's T20 team rankings.

"It's likely that he'll bat in the middle order," said Gillespie.

"You want to have adaptable cricketers. We saw last week in the (ODI) in Brisbane that he can adapt, he batted eight. 

"That's what you want. You want adaptable players who can be put in a different position, a different role and they can find a way to thrive. 

"We saw Alex tonight, he did exactly that – 25 off 10 balls – he showed that he can adapt his game depending on the situation."

With Peter Siddle nursing a minor hand injury, quick Wes Agar (0-26 off three overs) also came into the Strikers squad on Thursday and is set to replace towering paceman Billy Stanlake after his call-up to the national T20 side.

- With AAP