Carey laments IPL absence, ponders empty Cup stadiums

In a less surreal time, Alex Carey would be basking in his maiden stint at the Indian Premier League with the wisdom of Delhi Capitals coach Ricky Ponting and the ceaseless noise from packed grandstands ringing in his ears.

Instead, the Australia limited-overs vice-captain is in isolation with his wife Eloise and 19-month-old son Louis in Adelaide's western suburbs, and is honing his wicketkeeping skills by throwing a golf ball against a wall and catching it as it rebounds.

There's also the not insubstantial matter of the $A470,000 pay cheque the 28-year-old notionally earned in last year's IPL auction, but which Carey concedes is unlikely to materialise as doubt continues to surround cricket's most lucrative domestic competition.

The IPL remains postponed indefinitely, and while India officials eye a possible window later in the year and offers have been extended from neighbouring Sri Lanka to stage the tournament on their comparatively COVID19 free island, Carey is contemplating the likelihood it will be cancelled for 2020.

"At this stage it's looking likely that might not go ahead," he said yesterday.

"It would be nice to be in Delhi playing cricket – it was my first time selected to be part of the IPL.

"I'm still really positive.

"I'm sure the world will move in the way we want it to, and there's still that hope later in the season the IPL will go ahead and the (men's T20) World Cup (scheduled for Australia), but we'll wait and see.

"I look at it as I'm healthy, safe, and getting to spend a lot of time with my family.

"It was a big couple of years on the cricket field, so to have to spend time at home is quite nice."

Carey, who has enjoyed a remarkable rise since making his ODI debut two years ago to the role of vice-captain and selection in the ICC's team of the tournament at the 2019 World Cup, was excited about the prospect of working under head coach Ponting in Delhi.

He said he's sent text messages to the former Australia Test skipper to glean what's happening with the IPL, but "he hasn't replied to me".

However, if the tournament is shifted to a possible playing window around September-October and is staged immediately prior to the scheduled T20 World Cup in Australia, Carey indicated he would be happy to base himself in India, pending the best expert travel advice available at that time.

"I'm sure that by the time the decision is made either way, there will be a lot more information available, and I wouldn't travel without the guidelines and having a chat to people I need to," Carey said.

Carey also acknowledged it would be disappointing if the men's T20 World Cup, which is scheduled to begin mid-October and culminate at the MCG on November 15, was postponed or had to be played in empty stadia due to ongoing lockdown restrictions due to the coronavirus.

But having already experienced the atmosphere (or lack thereof) created by playing in front of empty stands in the sole ODI against New Zealand that was completed at the SCG last month before the pandemic restrictions hit hard, Carey believes no crowds is a better outcome than no cricket.

Former Australia captain Allan Border and current limited-overs all-rounder Glenn Maxwell are among those who have expressed doubt about the viability and authenticity of a World Cup being staged without fans in attendance.

Carey said the prospect of pushing back the tournament until early in 2021 "would probably be the ideal situation" even though the subsequent men's T20 World Cup is currently also scheduled for India in October of next year.

Having performed in front of sell-out crowds featuring fans from around the globe at last year's ICC 50-over World Cup in the UK, Carey knows how exhilarating those major international tournaments can be and recognises the difference a locked-down stadium would make.

"As a cricket player and lover of the game, I'd do absolutely everything I could to represent my country at a World Cup," he said.

"Out in the middle it's that atmosphere you absolutely love and thrive on.

"But saying that, the landscape of the world has changed dramatically over the last few months and, if it has to be that way (empty stadia), then I'm sure we'll find a way to make it go ahead.

"You don't want that to happen, you want your fans there.

“They play a very big part in our sport and without the fans we wouldn’t have a job.

“So it would be hard to proceed without fans, but I love playing cricket and if there's no-one there I'd definitely still go out there and play."

Australia's men's team were eyeing a T20 World Cup with similar confidence to their ultimately triumphant women's counterparts – who sealed their title in front of 86,000 fans at the MCG last month – due largely to the turnaround in their recent T20 form.

Aaron Finch's team has won nine of its past 10 completed T20 internationals, a marked change from their previous 10 completed matches that yielded just three victories.

Carey claimed the form reversal has been partly due to the return of top-order batters Steve Smith and David Warner from their respective suspensions, along with greater consistency in selection that has allowed a core group of T20 players to bond and better understand each other's games.

"We know our opening batters will be Finch and Warner, then you throw Steve Smith in at (number three)," Carey said.

"We've been pretty consistent with our line-up the last six to twelve months.

"It's really valuable doing that, you know what your bowlers' strengths are, what the spinners can do – (Adam) Zampa and (Ashton) Agar were fantastic - and the top of the order were making the runs.

"It was very enjoyable, and quite a consistent group with our roles very specific.

"We had a really good understanding and I'm very optimistic if, in six months' time, the World Cup goes ahead, we're playing some really good cricket.

"We like our home conditions, and I know the guys are still keeping fit and staying strong.

"So if we do get an opportunity to play, I think our game will be ready to go."