“I distinctly remember a trial game where Alex walked out to bat and immediately admonished a slips cordon full of experienced players for using too much foul language. He was 15 at the time.
“Across 20 years of grade cricket I had a lot of teammates,and a few of them deserved to be booed for their on-field antics. But in Alex Carey,England’s got the wrong guy.”
Carey’s recollection of the Bairstow incident at Lord’s is worth recounting in full:“We were switched onto the fact that it was a bouncer plan,and it felt like Johnny was pretty switched onto getting out the way;he wasn’t playing any shots. When he ducked,obviously his first movement was pretty much out of his crease,so I instinctively grabbed the ball,threw the stumps down and the rest is history.
“As soon as I got it,I threw it straightaway. And then,I guess once the bail has come off,it’s up to the third umpire to deem it out or not out,or the on-field umpires as well,and it was given out and then,yeah,I guess to see how much it has played out since then;it’s been a little bit surprising.
“If you’re on the Australian side,there’s been amazing support. And if you’re on the England side,it’s probably the opposite.”
His description of the ugly scenes in the Lord’s Long Room 15 minutes after the stumping as “instant feedback” was understated in the extreme,given thata trio of MCC members are currently facing possible expulsion from the club for their behaviour.
But Carey was more frank about some other language hurled in the direction of him and his family. Extra security was detailed to protect the partners and families of the team during the Leeds Test.
“We got some pretty instant feedback,” Carey said of Lord’s. “Everyone is entitled to their opinion,and I absolutely respect that. And then everyone’s entitled to their opinion on the spirit of cricket as well. There’s a few chants that I was actually humming along to while I was batting,just trying to change the words a little bit.
“There’s some nasty stuff being said,but it is the Ashes. There was nasty stuff said before that as well. So yeah,I feel really well-supported. I think the whole group does. From Australia,I still think we’ve got lots of fans,and from England,I don’t think we’ve made any,but we probably didn’t lose any.
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“The support that I’ve been given here amongst the group – not just myself,I guess the whole group’s had some stuff spoken about them. But we’re really tight. We understand what’s important and who matters,and those guys[the touring party] definitely have our back.”
As for the haircut story,Carey confirmed his previous visit to the barber had been in London about the time of the World Test Championship final. “Yeah,the hair hasn’t been cut since we were down in Chelsea,” he said. “It’s definitely due for a trim. But no,I’m not that tight[-fisted].”
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