Alex Carey looks set to replace Tim Paine as Australia’s wicketkeeper for the Ashes against England and make his Test debut, as bad weather ruined both teams’ preparations on Wednesday.
Paine stepped down as Test captain and then walked away from cricket last week over a text-message scandal, which prompted selectors to look for a substitute before the first Test on 8 December.
Carey and teammate Josh Inglis were widely seen as a showdown for the role and a decision was expected after a three-day intra-squad match featuring the two of them in Brisbane.
But Wednesday washed out the first day and reports said Inglis had returned to Perth.
The Sydney Morning Herald said Carey, 30, was “allowed”, sentiments echoed by broadcaster ABC, which said he “expects to be named the Australian wicketkeeper”.
Carey featured in limited-overs cricket for Australia and stood as ODI captain in the West Indies this year, but never played a Test match.
He insisted on Wednesday that he had not spoken to the selectors.
“Now the selection is completely out of my control. It’s something I shouldn’t waste time worrying about,” Carey told RSN Radio.
“If I’m lucky enough to have this opportunity, I’ll feel really proud and grateful… a little kid’s dream come true.”
Inglis is set to return to Brisbane after his trip to see the family – but for an Australia A Tour match instead of the first Test at the Gabba ground.
All-rounder Cameron Green, who started at number six for Australia in the Ashes, said either Carey or Inglis could do the job.
“The experience he (Carey) brings, he has a really good record in one-day cricket, he has really put that position down very well,” he said.
“Both guys they could go for are world class.”
With incessant rain severely disrupting both the teams’ preparations for the five-Test series, Australia also need to decide between Usman Khawaja and Travis Head as current number five Matthew Wade has been dropped from the squad. had gone.
The rain-hit warm-up match was seen as an opportunity for him to impress the selectors.
England also suffered weather last week with a three-day warm-up match after 29 overs.
No play was possible on the opening day of their final four-day clash on Tuesday, and rain meant that only an optional indoor session was possible on Wednesday.
Rory Burns and Haseeb Hameed, along with spinners Dom Bess, are the only members of their Ashes party to have any match practice since the start of the tour.
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