Carey rides lows and highs after IPL axing

Even by the standards of a most unpredictable summer, Alex Carey's past 24 hours delivered some stunning lows and highs.

Carey woke on Thursday morning to learn he had been let go by his Indian Premier League franchise Delhi Capitals, coached by former Australia Test captain Ricky Ponting, after being starved of opportunities in his maiden season of the world's most lucrative T20 competition.

Later in the day, he then learned he would be reunited with Jake Weatherald as openers for the Adelaide Strikers in their must-win BBL|10 match against Brisbane Heat, having himself only returned to the top of the order the previous match, with the Strikers needing to triumph in at least two of their final three matches on home turf to maintain hopes of reaching the playoffs.

The 29-year-old Australia ODI keeper – who has been overlooked in the past four Australia T20 internationals – took the first news with typical equanimity, noting he wasn't hugely surprised given the paucity of cricket he played at Delhi where India's Test hero Rishabh Pant remained first-choice keeper-batter.

He also remains hopeful of being signed by another IPL franchise at the auction of the 2021 iteration of the competition next month.

The second challenge he met head-on, peeling off the first century of BBL|10 and helping the Strikers to an imposing total of 5-197 that saw them crush Brisbane by 82 runs and leap to fourth on the ladder, with only net run rate separating them from second.

In doing so, Carey became the first Strikers batter – and just the sixth in the BBL's 10-year history – to become a dual century maker.

And having spent much of the current tournament batting at No.3 in the absence of Strikers skipper Travis Head (in Australia's Test squad), it was a return to his former role at the top of the batting order that enabled him to turn the starts he's made with recent regularity into a big score.

The Strikers' sole title win in BBL|07 was in no small part due to the opening partnership Carey forged with Weatherald, but this year – in Head's absence – coach Jason Gillespie has employed various combinations of Weatherald, English import Phil Salt and Heat recruit Matthew Renshaw.

In reverting to the old formula with such success last night, Carey believes his team have settled on a blueprint they'll take into the final two regular season games against Sydney Thunder (on Sunday and Monday) and to the playoffs, should they reach them.

"As you've seen, we've tried everyone at the top of the order and through the middle and we've gone back to what worked a few years ago," Carey said in the wake of his 101 from 62 balls with 10 boundaries and three sixes.

"Jake (Weatherald), the way he started tonight was fantastic, it took the pressure off me.

"I didn't get too flustered when I wasn't flying at the start and then Trav (Head), a world-class batter to come in at three is handy, Salt to play a different role for him was great as well, and then Renshaw and (Ryan) Gibson.

"It's probably the way we'll go for now, but it wasn't always the plan."

It also wasn't in Carey's planning to be looking for a new IPL franchise after being bought for around A$500,000 by Ponting's Delhi outfit last year.

However, the left-hander played just three game for the Capitals who lost the final to Mumbai Indians, scoring 32 runs with a highest score of 14.

Image Id: https://www.cricket.com.au/~/media/News/2020/10/12Carey-bats-embed?la=en&hash=77386A4FC26011DF091BB69A8DCE65B95D90F652 Image Caption: Alex Carey hit 14 from 9 on his IPL debut // BCCI/IPL

Carey found himself in handy company, with Australia ODI teammates Steve Smith, Glenn Maxwell and Aaron Finch as well as fellow Australians Chris Green, James Pattinson, Nathan Coulter-Nile and Billy Stanlake also released by their IPL teams.

It is unknown how many of those players will nominate for the next month's 2021 draft, but Carey made it clear he'll be throwing his cap in the ring.

"It wasn't a surprise," Carey said of his de-listing by Delhi.

"Those things, you get a bit of an inkling for and I didn't play a lot of cricket, just sat on the sidelines so it probably makes sense to open that spot up for someone else.

"Hopefully there's an opportunity in this year's draft, but I'm really grateful for Delhi and Punter (Ponting) for picking me up in the first place."

Carey said he was an interested viewer of the enthralling Vodafone Test Series in which Pant played a central role in India's remarkable 2-1 win, scoring a thrilling 97 on the final day of the third Test at the SCG and a match-winning 89no in similar circumstances to clinch victory in the finale at Brisbane.

The Australia ODI keeper and former vice-captain admitted he wasn't surprised by Pant's heroics given what he had seen of his talent and temperament during his time at Delhi.

Carey has also been mentioned as a possible successor to Test skipper Tim Paine who admitted in the wake of the series defeat to India he was only looking as far ahead as the next Test series which, for Australia, is next month's tour to South Africa.

But Carey's focus remains the Strikers' final back-to-back matches against fifth-placed Sydney Thunder at Adelaide Oval on consecutive days, in the hope the team maintains its current position in the top four of BBL|10 and contests the playoffs.

"It's a cliché, but you can't really look too far ahead because one minute you're at the bottom and next minute you're up to second or third with the bonus points up for grabs as well," he said last night.

"We understand the next two games are big ones, so it will be nice to win the next one and see where we're placed after that.

"We've struggled to go back to back wins this season, so hopefully from tonight we can build a bit of momentum at the right end of this tournament."