Australia will bounce back stronger in Adelaide: Carey

Australia wicketkeeper-batter Alex Carey denied any sort of panic in team and vowed to bounce back strong with ‘better style of cricket’ in Adelaide after facing a crushing 295-run defeat against India in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy opener in Perth.

Carey backed Australia’s batting line-up saying they all want to play big knocks in the pink-ball second Test at Adelaide Oval.

“If you ask the batters, we all want to perform better, you go out there to score a hundred and if you don’t do that, I think you’re at times disappointed,” Carey told reporters on Tuesday.

“But we’re a very united group. We all do get the opportunity to bat and we’re all keen to continue to put those big runs on the board and I trust the guys to do that,” he added.

The huge defeat in Perth attracted a lot of scrutiny from media and former players but Carey claimed it was all quiet in the dressing room.

“It’s quite a big reaction externally for one Test loss. Internally, we don’t feel that. We didn’t play the way we would have liked to have played. We know over four or five Test matches, we keep rocking up and playing our style of cricket we will have the success. We’ve had that success to, I guess, call upon the method does work.”

“We’re calm internally, we’re excited to get back out and play a better style of cricket and we’ve got that opportunity come Friday,” Carey added.

The wicketkeeper added that Australia’s ‘world-class’ batters will come up with options against pacer Jasprit Bumrah in the day-night Test.

“He’s obviously a fantastic bowler; has been for a number of years. Our batters are world class as well and always find ways to come up with solutions,” Carey said.

“We’ve had a look at him now. Hopefully we can combat that first, second spell. Get him bowling a little bit deeper in the innings with an older ball. We saw Travis sort of counterpunch a bit . I trust our batters, we’ll find a way not only Bumrah. They played a couple of other debutantes who bowled well as well,” he added.

Carey avoided emphasising the previous pink-ball Test against India at Adelaide Oval, where India recorded their lowest-ever Test total of 36.

“There are obviously amazing days in cricketing history but we don’t expect to go out there and do that again. We have a process and a plan that we try to execute and whatever happens, happens. I was not here for that Test match.”

Meanwhile, Australian opener Nathan McSweeney has vowed to “show everyone what I can do” when the second Test begins on familiar territory in Adelaide on Friday.

The 25-year-old was under the spotlight when he made his debut for his country in the first Test of the five-match series last month in Perth.

McSweeney had only ever opened once before at first-class level and he scored 10 and nought as a rampant India won by 295 runs, with fast bowler Bumrah his and Australia’s chief tormentor.

“I got two pretty good balls over there in Perth, so I’m not trying to dwell on it too much and look forward to Adelaide,” McSweeney told Cricket Australia’s media arm.

“I’ve played well out here, and it’s my home ground,” he said of the Adelaide Oval, which will host the day-night second Test.

“So I’m looking forward to getting in front of a home crowd and most importantly, a wicket that I’ve played heaps of cricket on and that I know really well.”

McSweeney got the nod to open the batting alongside Usman Khawaja in Perth on the back of an impressive start to the domestic season.

Two of his six career Sheffield Shield centuries have come at the Adelaide Oval and he averages just over 43 in first-class games there, according to Cricket Australia.

He admits however that the “pink ball is a little bit new to me”.

“But we’ll be training here under lights a few times this week.

“So we’ve got some prep to do and I feel like I missed out last match, but my game’s still in a good spot.”

He added: “If I can make sure I nail my prep and then spend some time in the middle, I can take great confidence from that.

“The beauty of this series is you don’t have to wait too long to get another opportunity, so definitely take some learnings from Perth and hopefully execute what I want to do here in Adelaide.

Agence France-Presse