Australia in search of long-term wicket-keeper ahead of 2019 World Cup

With less than a year to go for the World Cup, the World Champions Australia are still unsure about their captain for the mega event. With Steve Smith and David Warner facing bans till March 2019, it will be interesting to see how Cricket Australia will take steps ahead of the upcoming big ICC event.

Currently, the Aussie side is having Tim Paine as a temporary captain in Tests and ODIs. Though his leadership and keeping have been brilliant during the tough times, he is yet to make a mark with his willow. In the ongoing ODI series against England, Paine has scored 12, 15, 5 and 3, with reserve wicket-keeper Alex Carey is waiting on the bench.

Former middle-order batsman Mike Hussey is unsure about the direction in which Aussie selectors are going when it comes to wicket-keeping. He wants the selection committee to pick the keeper based on performance, “I don’t think we should be picking players just because they’re a good leader,” he said to Cricket.com.au. “We need to pick the best players and hopefully they’ve got that cultural base in place that whoever comes in, they just know exactly what’s expected of them from a behavioural point of view and what the culture of the team demands of them as well.

Hussey reckons selectors should go with Alex Carey if they think he’s a better option. Carey was in a brilliant form in Big Bash League 2017-18 and scored his maiden ton for South Australia. He made his ODI debut last summer in the middle-order. Hussey isn’t sure about Tim Paine’s availability for the mega event in 2019 as Smith and Warner will come back to the national side.

“We need to be looking at who’s in our best team and the best players to play in that team. I’m not sure in 12 months’ time Tim Paine will be there because if you think Alex Carey is a better one-day option, you’re better off getting him in there sooner rather than later, if the selectors think he’s a better one-day option.”

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