“We’re primed, we’re ready”: Alex Carey and Australia look to regain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy

BY JORDAN MOLL/SEN

Test wicketkeeper Alex Carey says Australia is primed for the first Test against India at Optus Stadium this Friday.

Carey has started the Sheffield Shield season in red-hot form, scoring two centuries for South Australia and is currently boasting an average of over 90 this season.

“It’s been a pretty solid start for South Australia, which is great and to contribute some runs towards that has been fantastic,” Carey told SEN WA’s The Run Home.

Carey, who was named in the ICC Test team of the year, feels that the side is ready to win back the Border-Gavaskar Trophy after three previous unsuccessful series.

“I think we are primed, we’re ready. It’s a really consistent group of players we’ve got in this test team over the last number of years, and I’m excited to see this test team come Friday,” he said.

“The guys are looking primed and ready to go for Friday.”

Carey is excited about the inclusion of Test debutant and fellow South Australian Nathan McSweeney, who will make his debut on Friday at the top of the order.

“He’s in great form, he’s a great person to have around any team, and I’m really excited to see what he can do,” he said.

Australia commenced their preparations for the first Test with an open training session at the WACA on Monday, before moving to Optus Stadium later in the week.

The Indian side is coming off a shock 3-0 series loss at home against New Zealand, but Carey is not taking them lightly, especially considering their recent history in Australia.

“They’re a really good cricket team, so they’ll be looking to bounce back from that series, as you mentioned, against New Zealand. They do have really good form in Australia, so it’s really a great opportunity for this playing group to win back the Border-Gavaskar trophy,” the keeper said.

India’s chances for the first Test took a major hit with the unavailability of opener Shubman Gill due to injury and captain Rohit Sharma who is staying in India for the birth of his second child.

Despite these massive outs for the visitors, Carey knows the depth of this Indian side is full of classy players.

“They’ve got lots of class in the squad, so whoever does come in will be a solid player,” he said.

The first of five tests between Australia and India begins today (Friday) at Perth’s Optus Stadium; listen to it live on the SEN app.