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Aussie T20 team a tight bunch: Carey

A kind gesture from Glenn Maxwell to international newcomer Alex Carey has underlined to the wicketkeeper the goodwill in the squad

Alex Carey thinks a recent gift from Glenn Maxwell says a lot about the strong bond of Australia's T20 squad.

Maxwell presented Carey with a signed bat after he smashed an unbeaten 103 from 58 balls in the tri-series clash against England in Hobart.

Maxi lights up Hobart with superb century

With Australia nearing the target Carey unselfishly farmed the strike to his partner, who duly clubbed a six to reach triple figures and seal the win.

"To Alex. Thanks for getting that single! Great partnership again! Best wishes, Glenn Maxwell. 103*," the light-hearted message read.

Carey, who made his ODI and T20 international debuts this summer, was touched.

"I thought the bat was pretty average but the writing on it was awesome," said a smiling Carey on Tuesday.

"It was obviously a nice gesture by Maxi and I think it just shows that the group is really close and we're having a lot of fun.

"For someone like Maxi to do that for me in such a short space of time shows that we've got some really good blokes in the side."


After a disappointing ODI series loss to England, the likes of Carey, Billy Stanlake and D'Arcy Short have given the Australian line-up an injection of youthful exuberance.

Having secured a berth in the T20 tri-series series final with three wins from three matches, the squad headed to New Zealand on Tuesday ahead of Friday's match against the Kiwis in Auckland then the title decider there on February 21.

Carey, who has a BBL century and title win with the Adelaide Strikers under his belt this season, has seen little action with the bat three matches into his international T20 career.

But the left-hander, who opens the batting for the Strikers, is confident he can do a job when called on at No.7 for Australia.

Carey crunches rapid century for the Strikers

"I haven't really had the opportunity to go out and play a big role with the stick but I'm working hard in the background," he said.

"I'm still learning at this level.

"But I'm thoroughly enjoying it and I'm sure if I get more of an opportunity I'll be ready to go."

Trans-Tasman T20 Tri-Series

First T20I Australia beat New Zealand by seven wickets. Scorecard

Second T20I Australia beat England by five wickets. Scorecard

Third T20I Australia beat England by seven wickets. Scorecard

Fourth T20I New Zealand beat England by 12 runs. Scorecard

Fifth T20I NZ v Australia, Eden Park, February 16

Sixth T20I NZ v England, Seddon Park, February 18

Final TBC, Eden Park, February 21

Australia squad: David Warner (c), Aaron Finch (vc), Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Ben Dwarshuis, Travis Head, Chris Lynn, Glenn Maxwell, Kane Richardson, D'Arcy Short, Billy Stanlake, Marcus Stoinis, Andrew Tye, Adam Zampa.

England squad: Eoin Morgan (c), Sam Billings, Jos Buttler, Sam Curran, Tom Curran, Liam Dawson, Alex Hales, Chris Jordan, Dawid Malan, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, James Vince, David Willey, Mark Wood.

New Zealand squad: Kane Williamson (c), Tom Blundell, Trent Boult, Tom Bruce, Colin de Grandhomme, Martin Guptill, Anaru Kitchen, Colin Munro, Seth Rance, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor, Ben Wheeler.