Match-winner Carey 'good enough to bat at No.5'

Less than a week after World Cup winning skipper Steve Waugh labelled Alex Carey "a hybrid of Michael Hussey and Michael Bevan", Australia’s wicketkeeper-batsman produced an innings the two legendary left-handers would have been proud to call their own.

Barely 12 months into his international career, Carey has been a quiet revelation for Australia at this World Cup, digging his side out of a hole on multiple occasions with the bat and failing to reach 20 just twice during the tournament.

His finest moment to date of what shapes as a long international career came on a worn batting pitch at Lord’s on Saturday; with Australia in early trouble at 5-92, Carey posted an effortless 71 at almost a run-a-ball on a surface that had some of the best batsmen in the world struggling for timing.

The graceful left-hander was one of only four players in the match to reach 30 and the fact the three others to reach that mark – Usman Khawaja (88 from 129 balls), Kane Williamson (40 from 51) and Ross Taylor (30 from 54) – all finished with a strike rate below 80 underlines how impressive Carey’s performance was.

"He looked like he was batting on a different surface to everyone else out there," former Australian captain Allan Border wrote in his column for the ICC.

"He struck the ball beautifully on both sides of the wicket and hit some nice cover drives, which we did not see much of from anyone else. He is without doubt my man of the match because, without him, Australia would not have got 150.

"It looked like he was batting on a belter whereas the likes of Finch, Warner and Smith all struggled."

In an Instagram post, three-time World Cup winner Adam Gilchrist also praised Carey, labelling him a "match winner" who is "so important to this team and (I'm) so pleased the world is now seeing this".

After Australia’s star-studded top order made a rare failure, it was left to Carey and Khawaja to steady to innings and push them towards a competitive total. But not only did Carey stem the bleeding, he defied the conditions to lift the scoring rate as well, scoring almost as many boundaries (11) as the rest of Australia’s top six combined (12).

Williamson, one of the best batsmen in the world and a star of this tournament so far, said the young Australian was a clear standout from both sides.

"I don't think anybody hit the ball well on that surface all day, except for Carey," he said.

"Credit to the way the Australian batters fought hard to get them to a very good score on that surface."

The fact Carey has delivered in nearly every match he’s played so far without much fanfare says plenty about the standout performances of his more senior teammates during this campaign.

His innings on Saturday was far from a one-off in this tournament; he scored a vital 45 to help save Australia from a dangerous 5-79 against the West Indies and also added quickfire cameos of 55 and 38 not out against India and England respectively.

His ability to steady after a collapse of wickets as well as accelerate in the late overs even led former Australian opener Michael Slater to declare he could be batting higher than both Glenn Maxwell and Marcus Stoinis in the order.

"I think the concern for the Australian management was what were the Australian middle order capable of doing if Finch and Warner failed," Slater said in commentary at Lord’s.

"Before the semis start, it's not a bad failure at the top for Australia in the sense that they see they can rebuild.

"I also think it throws the question as to Carey being good enough to bat five. If there is two or three early wickets, then Carey is more than capable of batting five."

Credit too must go to Australia’s selectors, who stood firm with the young South Australian despite the likes of Matthew Wade, Peter Handscomb and even Tim Paine making strong cases to take the gloves at the showpiece event.

With Wade continuing his remarkable patch of good form on the current Australia A tour, some below-par performances from Carey would have raised questions about the faith coach Justin Langer and his panel have shown in the 27-year-old.

Border says the South Australian has completely vindicated their decision.

"There were a lot of doubts before, critics asking if he was truly our best option," Border wrote. "Should we have gone for Matty Wade or Tim Paine?

"But he has grown in confidence and it has been nice to watch."

2019 World Cup

Australia's squad: Aaron Finch (c), Jason Behrendorff, Alex Carey (wk), Nathan Coulter-Nile, Pat Cummins, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Shaun Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, David Warner, Adam Zampa

June 1: Australia beat Afghanistan by seven wickets

June 6: Australia beat West Indies by 15 runs

June 9: Australia lost to India by 36 runs

June 12: Australia beat Pakistan by 41 runs

June 15: Australia beat Sri Lanka by 87 runs

June 20: Australia beat Bangladesh by 48 runs

June 25: Australia beat England by 64 runs

June 29: Australia beat New Zealand by 86 runs

July 6: Australia v South Africa, Old Trafford (D/N)

July 9: Semi-Final 1, Old Trafford

July 11: Semi-Final 2, Edgbaston

July 14: Final, Lord's

Sync Australia's World Cup schedule to your calendar HERE

For a full list of all World Cup fixtures, click HERE