Ashes 2023: Alex Carey finishes with 26 dismissals, attains feats
Australian wicket-taker Alex Carey enjoyed his time behind stumps in Ashes 2023. He registered four dismissals with the gloves, taking his overall tally in the ongoing Ashes to 26. As a result, Carey has become one of the few Australian wicket-keepers with 25-plus dismissals in an Ashes series. With the bat, he averaged 21.50 as his solitary fifty came in Birmingham.
Why does this story matter?
Carey has been Australia's designated wicket-keeper across formats since former captain Tim Paine's exit. The left-handed batter's glovework was impressive throughout Ashes 2023. Although the runs for Carey dried up following his 66-run knock in Birmingham, his wicket-keeping made up for it. This was Carey's first Ashes series in England as a designated wicket-keeper and a second overall.
Carey enters this list
As per Cricbuzz, Carey has become the sixth Australian wicket-keeper to have registered 25-plus dismissals in an Ashes series. While Ian Healy (1993, 1994/95, 1997) and Adam Gilchrist (2001, 2002/03, 2006/07) got to this mark multiple times, Rod Marsh (1982/83), Brad Haddin (2013), and Paine (2017/18) did it once. Carey is the latest entrant on this list.
His wicket-keeping numbers in Ashes 2023
In Ashes 2023, Carey recorded 25 dismissals across nine innings. He took 21 catches, while five of them came as stumpings. Carey registered five dismissals in the series opener in Birmingham (three catches and two stumpings.
Carey unlocked this achievement in WTC final
Earlier this year, Carey's glovework made headlines during the ICC World Test Championship final wherein Australia defeated India. Carey slammed 114 crucial runs across both innings and also accumulated six dismissals. He became the fifth Aussie wicket-keeper to achieve this feat in a single Test. Marsh, Healy, Gilchrist (thrice), and Haddin (twice) are the other Australian wicket-keepers to have unlocked this achievement.
Ninth-most wicket-keeping dismissals for Australia in Tests
Carey has now registered 94 dismissals for Australia in Test cricket. Among Australian wicket-keepers, he is ninth in terms of Test dismissals. Gilchrist leads the charts with 416 dismissals in 96 Tests. Healy and Marsh are next in line with 395 and 355 dismissals, respectively. While Carey surpassed Matthew Wade's tally of 74 dismissals, WAS Oldfield (130) is ahead of him.
A look at Carey's batting stats
Carey is an equally potent batter in Test cricket. He knows the art of scoring quick runs down the order. Carey has raced to 975 runs in 25 Tests at 31.45. Besides scoring five fifties, he has slammed a century. The wicket-keeper batter also owns a healthy strike rate of 57.62. In his first Test in England, Carey ended with 114 runs.
