Carey locks in new four-year BBL deal

Having been stripped of his official leadership duties with the Australian side earlier this year, Alex Carey looks set to captain the Adelaide Strikers for most of the upcoming KFC BBL season.

Adelaide today confirmed a four-year contract extension for Carey that will keep him at the Strikers until at least the end of BBL|13.

With regular skipper Travis Head set to be unavailable until late January on Test duty, Carey is expected to fill in as skipper for the bulk of the season having done so for seven games last summer.

Carey's leadership potential was underlined in 2018 when he was named one of Australia's vice-captains less than a year after making his debut in national colours.

A more "streamlined" leadership structure with the national side this year has seen Pat Cummins take on the sole vice-captain position, but Carey is set to a chance to show his worth as a leader in the Big Bash this summer.

"Alex is a key part of the group, a player and leader of the highest standard, and for him to be at the Strikers for the next four years is a massive result for this franchise, the city and our fans," Strikers coach Jason Gillespie said.

Carey looks set to miss at least Adelaide's first game of the season, against the Hobart Hurricanes on December 13, which is the final day of the three-day Australia A match against India in Sydney.

The Strikers will then face the Hurricanes again on December 15 before taking on the Sydney Sixers five days later.

Veteran fast bowler Peter Siddle could be an option to step into the captaincy role should both Head and Carey be unavailable.

Should Head retain his spot in Australia's Test side for all four Tests against India this summer, he will be unavailable for the BBL until after the fourth Test finishes on January 19. The Strikers have games on January 21st, 24th and 25th before the finals begin on the 29th.

Carey is currently in Sydney preparing for the Dettol ODI & T20 series against India, starting on Friday, after an educational stint in the Indian Premier League where he played just three games for Ricky Ponting's Delhi Capitals side.

Carey is Adelaide's 19th and final signing for this season with Matt Renshaw (Brisbane Heat), Daniel Worrall (Melbourne Stars) and English spinner Danny Briggs the three major additions to their squad from last summer.

The club last week maiden BBL deals to 20-year-old batsman Liam Scott, who has impressed with South Australia in this season's Marsh Sheffield Shield competition so far, and left-arm quick Spencer Johnson, 24, whose claim to fame so far is he once stood in for fellow left-arm quick Mitchell Starc in a promotional shoot.

Along with Briggs, Afghan spin star Rashid Khan and English opener Phil Salt are the club's three internationals, although Rashid may be unavailable for the second half of the competition due to Afghanistan's series against Ireland that's scheduled for January 18-23.

Given Australia's tight border restrictions that require all international visitors to quarantine for two weeks, it'll be impossible for the BBL's Afghan players Rashid, Mohammad Nabi (Melbourne Renegades) and Mujeeb Ur Rahman (Brisbane Heat) to return to Australia after the Ireland series and take part in the latter stages of the BBL, which finishes on February 6.

Adelaide Strikers' BBL|10 squad: Wes Agar, Danny Briggs (England), Alex Carey, Harry Conway, Travis Head, Spencer Johnson, Rashid Khan (Afghanistan), Michael Neser, Harry Nielsen, Liam O'Connor, Matt Renshaw, Phil Salt (England), Liam Scott, Matt Short, Peter Siddle, Cameron Valente, Jake Weatherald, Jon Wells, Daniel Worrall.