The high-intensity headspace driving Carey's purple patch

His teammates suggest he gives them nothing when batting together but for Alex Carey there's a method to his intensity that sees him rarely exchange more than a few words in a partnership. 

Amid a golden run that began with what remains his "favourite Test innings" to get Australia home in Christchurch in March 2024, Carey has found a clarity on how he wants to approach his batting that has seen him reach new heights over the past 12 months.

Having entered that Test in Christchurch averaging less than 30 and his position as Test wicketkeeper somewhat under pressure, the left-hander's knock of 98 not out in Australia's fourth-innings chase of 279 sparked a blueprint that he's been able to lean on ever since.

It's one that has been particularly evident in his past three Tests across three different continents, where faced with vastly different conditions and contrasting game situations, he's been able to deliver vital runs in the context of each contest.

He brought up his second Test century in the first of those matches, finishing with a career-best 156 against Sri Lanka to help Australia to their first series win in the subcontinent island nation in 14 years.

Two counterpunching second-innings hands then followed, firstly to save Australia from complete collapse in their World Test Championship final loss at Lord's, before seizing on Travis Head and Beau Webster's momentum to bat Australia into a position of dominance with a 40-ball half-century in last week's series-opening win against the West Indies.

The latter knock of 65 in Barbados, which featured two lofted off-drives off fast bowlers Jayden Seales and Justin Greaves that Steve Smith later described as "outrageous", took his average in his past 16 innings dating back to that Christchurch Test to 51.46.

"It's always great to score runs but leading in (to Christchurch) I probably hadn't had the best numbers," Carey recalled to cricket.com.au in London ahead of the WTC final.

"I probably felt like I was playing OK and was just finding ways to get out at times, as you do in cricket.

"From there, it's given me that confidence and belief which can help me when I go out and play for Australia.

"A great Test match to be a part of and a great partnership that Mitch (Marsh) and I still speak about it when the chips were down against New Zealand.

"You want to have those feelings again and be the guy to help your team win games of cricket, it's why we play.

"It's an innings that I try to feed off moving forward and (to replicate) getting into the contest like I did that day and (being) really sharp and focused.

"There's a few things I took away from that innings."

While Carey says the perfect headspace and mindset for him while batting is constantly evolving, one of the key takeaways he has found since has been the clarity he feels when he walks to the middle.

"I feel like at the moment I'm pretty clear when I go out to bat," Carey said on Tuesday ahead of the second Test against West Indies in Grenada.

"I try to get myself to quite a high energy level and intensity, which some guys in the team probably take the piss out of me a little bit (for) and say I'm a little bit too switched on.

"But I feel like that's the best method for me if I've got the energy up and focusing on what's coming down at me – that's the best headspace for me."

The six-month break he had after his Christchurch knock last year also helped the 33-year-old implement a slight technical tweak derived from watching some of the T20 game's most powerful hitters, going on to re-establish himself in Australia's one-day side last September after being dropped during the 2023 World Cup.

"I just changed the hands a little bit, just got them up (higher)," he told reporters at Grenada's National Stadium.

"I tinkered with it through the offseason (last year). I had a bit of time last winter where I didn't play much cricket so I guess the traditional preseason was back and I just tinkered with a couple of things.

"Just playing around (while home) in Adelaide and looking at the players around the world in T20 cricket – some of the guys keep the bat low on the ground and get it up late and it's a bit of a timing thing.

"For me, I feel like if I'm just eliminating any movement then hopefully my timing is not out. I don't move too much (pre-delivery), I try to react to what's bowled, and I feel like if I'm in a pretty still position that's giving me a good opportunity to react to the bowling.

"I won't say it's going to last me forever but at the moment it's feeling quite good in the stance."

Carey said his clarity, as well as that of his teammates had been particularly useful on Australia's first Test tour of the Caribbean where the only specialist batter with experience prior to the first Test was Steve Smith, who missed the match with a dislocated finger.

Smith is closing in on a return for Thursday's second Test in Grenada (beginning midnight Friday AEST) after getting through training on Tuesday unscathed while wearing a splint on his right little finger for protection while batting and fielding.

"We were all really clear on our methods," Carey said of their approach in the first Test, which saw Travis Head hit twin half-centuries and he and Beau Webster 65 and 63 respectively in the second innings.

"That's the strength of this batting line-up is that we're able to adapt from first innings to second innings.

"'Trav' and Beau set the platform and as 'Ronnie' (Australian coach Andrew McDonald) and Michael Di Venuto (batting coach) said, it's about finding runs and getting runs on these surfaces, rather than sometimes grinding out the opposition.

"To lift the intent a little bit seemed to be the way on that surface (in Barbados)."

Qantas Tour of the West Indies

First Test: Australia won by 159 runs

Second Test: July 3-7, St George's, Grenada (midnight AEST)

Third Test: July 12-16, Kingston, Jamaica (4.30am AEST)

Australia Test squad: Pat Cummins (c), Sean Abbott, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Sam Konstas, Matt Kuhnemann, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Beau Webster

West Indies Test squad: Roston Chase (c), Jomel Warrican (vc), Kevlon Anderson, Kraigg Brathwaite, John Campbell, Keacy Carty, Justin Greaves, Shai Hope, Tevin Imlach, Alzarri Joseph, Shamar Joseph, Brandon King, Johann Layne, Mikyle Louis, Anderson Phillip, Jayden Seales

First T20I: July 20, Kingston, Jamaica (July 21, 11am AEST)

Second T20I: July 22, Kingston, Jamaica (July 23, 11am AEST)

Third T20I: July 25, Basseterre, St Kitts (July 26, 9am AEST)

Fourth T20I: July 26, Basseterre, St Kitts (July 27, 9am AEST)

Fifth T20I: July 28, Basseterre, St Kitts (July 29, 9am AEST)

West Indies T20 squad: TBC

Australia's T20 squad: Mitchell Marsh (c), Sean Abbott, Cooper Connolly, Tim David, Ben Dwarshius, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Aaron Hardie, Josh Hazlewood, Josh Inglis, Spencer Johnson, Matt Kuhnemann, Glenn Maxwell, Mitch Owen, Matthew Short, Adam Zampa