The Ashes 2021: Alex Carey to replace Tim Paine as Australia’s wicket-keeper in the first Ashes test at Brisbane

The Ashes 2021: Alex Carey is set to make his test debut at the Gabba in Brisbane, he will be the 463rd Australian to don the “baggy green”.

Tim Paine stepped down as the captain of the side last week and has taken an indefinite break from cricket. After all the speculations, Pat Cummins is the new test captain of Australia. He will be Australia’s 47th test captain. The leadership roles are decided for the Australian side, but the wicket-keeping role was still in doubt.

Alex Carey and Josh Inglis were the potential candidates to fill the spot of Tim Paine. Alex Carey definitely had some advantages over Josh Inglis. Carey has led Australia in the ODI format, whereas he was also a part of the 2019 WC squad. Josh Inglis has not made his International debut, but the way he has performed in the last year has been exceptional. However, the first-class records of both players are almost identical.

The Ashes 2021: Alex Carey to be Australia’s wicket-keeper in Brisbane

Australian selectors have all but confirmed that Alex Carey will be taking Gloves for Australia at the Brisbane test. Carey will become the 463rd Australian to don the “baggy green”. 30-years old Carey has been with the white-ball team for the last four years. However, the recent form of Carey has been not been great with the red-ball. He has managed to score just a single half-century in the last eight Sheffield Shield innings.

Josh Inglis, on the other hand, dominated the Shield last season, whereas he had impressive outings in England as well with the white-ball. Although, Alex Carey scored a timely century for South Australia in the Marsh One Day Cup game recently. Inglis has moved to Perth, and it is a clear indication that he won’t be allowed to return to Queensland due to border restrictions.

Australia’s plan was to announce the wicket-keeper after the intra-squad game. However, the game is set to wash out due to the bad weather forecast. Many of the former Australian cricketers backed Alex Carey, and he is set to make his test debut at the Gabba in Brisbane.