Roar Rookie
Joined May 2013
25.4k
Views
18
Published
11.8k
Comments
Published
Comments
The main issue with Fremantle simply isn’t the list - it’s the team's mentality, and it’s a weak one.
No disrespect to Rachin Ravindra or Kane Williamson, who together put on a Test batting masterclass at the Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui, but…
Australia's best XI for the World Cup does not include some of their biggest stars.
Much has been made of just how insipid West Coast have been this season. They’ve been a downright disaster and with one win and…
Watching the Dockers get pantsed by GWS on the weekend was a depressing afternoon for a nailed-on Freo fan such as myself, but what…
The announcement that Tasmania is coming brings an awkward scenario for the AFL - an odd number of teams.
Justin Longmuir looked to have the Dockers on the right path, now, that appears to have been a a ruse.
If one positive has come out of the rather underwhelming limited-overs series against Zimbabwe and New Zealand, followed by the T20 tour of India,…
Just hours after Fremantle's finals exit at the hands of Collingwood, club president Dale Alcock was already looking ahead to 2023, with one ambition…
You'd be forgiven for missing it, considering the buzz surrounding AFL finals at the moment, but Australia is playing cricket at the moment! Yes,…
So, then there were six. After a dramatic first weekend of finals we now have seen the back of Richmond and the Bulldogs and…
I am a self-confessed cricket nut. My childhood almost constantly revolved around it. From playing juniors on a Saturday morning, watching the seniors on…
I don't envy Justin Longmuir. The list of players available for him to select is shrinking by the week. An injury list already comprising…
Australia's World Cup preparation has come to an end after a dominant win over Sri Lanka in Southampton. This combined with wins over the…
There are potentially six spots up for grabs for the first Test in Brisbane, with two quicks, a spinner, wicketkeeper, number three, and an…
There is a World Cup just around the corner, and on home soil, so there is no better opportunity for Australia to lift the…
While there are only four sides left in this year's AFL, they are definitely the four best sides in the competition. Here is my…
Here are the AFL clubs' final matches, if they are still in the finals hunt. 1. Hawthorn: They were a sho0-in for top spot…
I think the point I’m trying to make is that Smith, Vereynne, Pant and Blundell are all picked for their batting first and their keeping second – they are top 6 batsmen that can also hold the gloves.
Carey doesn’t make the Australian side as a batsman (although on shield form this season he probably would), Pant probably still does for India.
Clearly in England, Foakes is a better keeper than Smith and in India Saha is a better keeper than Pant.
New Zealand is a funny one – they had the best pure keeper in BJ Watling for a very long time, but he also was a top 6 bat. They’ve tried to do the same with Blundell, but he’s not as great in either department.
I guess my point here, is it’s hard to compare Carey to too many of the other keepers as he plays a different role.
Quiet achiever Carey starting to enter rare air of Australia’s all-time wicketkeeping greats
Technically Pant is poor I agree, his footwork isn’t great. But he has a very good eye, and that saves him a bit. He’s also quite good up to the stumps to spinners, which for mine is Carey’s weakness.
I don’t remember him missing a chance in the BGT.
Quiet achiever Carey starting to enter rare air of Australia’s all-time wicketkeeping greats
The only reason Johnson gets the nod as man of the series ahead of Haddin, is his batting was also huge, alongside his bowling.
They were the two stars of that series. All time stuff, like I said, I like Alex Carey, but he’s never dominated a series like Hadds did there.
Quiet achiever Carey starting to enter rare air of Australia’s all-time wicketkeeping greats
I’d pick Foakes over Carey, as a pure gloveman. But Carey is a better batter.
Quiet achiever Carey starting to enter rare air of Australia’s all-time wicketkeeping greats
Foakes is the best pure gloveman in the world. The fact he isn’t picked shows you the way test cricket has gone.
Quiet achiever Carey starting to enter rare air of Australia’s all-time wicketkeeping greats
I hope he doesn’t. He’s a better gloveman than Carey, and his batting is at a similar level, a lot of people said Haddin and Paine would miss out but in the end they didn’t.
Who is the next younger keeper then? Philippe? Joel Curtis? There isn’t a lot.
Quiet achiever Carey starting to enter rare air of Australia’s all-time wicketkeeping greats
Their batting position definitely matters – if you are being picked in the top 6 you are there first and foremost as a batsman, so the secondary question is are any of them as good as Carey is with the gloves (and I’ve said he isn’t great) – i’d say Pant and Rizwan definitely are, jury’s out on Veryenne and Smith (i simply haven’t seen enough of either to judge), and Blundell is worse.
If Carey was batting 6, I’d have issues with the amount of runs he’s making, but at 7 he’s contributing about what you’re after.
My issue with Carey has always been that his glovework is mediocre, not bad, but definitely not as good as his predecessor, or the bloke that is his likely number 2.
Quiet achiever Carey starting to enter rare air of Australia’s all-time wicketkeeping greats
Inglis will likely be the next man in, but it may not be until he is 31/32, so he will follow that trend really. Hadds came in his 30s, as did Paine, Carey late 20s…
Quiet achiever Carey starting to enter rare air of Australia’s all-time wicketkeeping greats
Sanga didn’t keep for quite a large part of his career.
Quiet achiever Carey starting to enter rare air of Australia’s all-time wicketkeeping greats
The other point to consider here is there batting positions. Blundell bats 6, Pant 5, Smith 6, Veryenne 6, Carey in the traditional keepers 7. The potential to make bigger scores is higher at 5/6, as is the expectation on them.
As mentioned, most Kiwi cricket fans are running out of patience with Blundell, and he is actually their main whipping boy, call him their Marnus in some ways. A once good batsman that’s dropped off significantly.
As I’ve said – I’ll reserve judgement on both Veryenne and Smith – until after they’ve played Australia. If Smith absolutely flops against India and then during the Ashes, which is a distinct possibility, his average will drop significantly, potentially lower than Carey’s
Is there many other actual pure keepers first and foremost? It’s a bit of a rarity in some ways.
Also I’m not sure you can quote FC records from South Africa and New Zealand and consider those competitions an equal measure to the Shield – they are significantly weaker comps.
Even county cricket is arguably a lesser comp than the Shield.
Quiet achiever Carey starting to enter rare air of Australia’s all-time wicketkeeping greats
Also, Levy is yet to sign an outfield player this window, a window in which Spurs are in dire need of reinforcements. Levy has hung Ange out to dry.
Ange vows to fight for Spurs redemption as another loss piles on pressure, United worst ever?
Haddin was a victim of being the poor sod having to come after Gilchrist, he was a great keeper batsman. I remember that Ashes series where him and Mitch Johnson kept saving Australia’s skin after being 6/150 a lot.
One of the better series for a keeper i’ve seen, and if it wasn’t for Johnson absolutely dominating, Haddin was probably man of the series.
I don’t think Carey has ever dominated a series like that.
Quiet achiever Carey starting to enter rare air of Australia’s all-time wicketkeeping greats
It’s hard to assess some of the other keepers around the world though:
Blundell – most of my Kiwi mates want him gone, other than 100 in Wellington he’s done very little and they’d rather Hay, or even simply Latham to take the gloves so they can pick another batsman.
Veryenne – who have South Africa played recently? This WTC they didn’t play Australia or England and drew with India.
Pant – better batsman, but whilst talented, he fails a lot.
Jamie Smith – very good start, but again it’s very early days, he is yet to play anyone of note as he didn’t tour NZ, and is yet to play Aus or India..
Only Rizwan is really streets ahead of Carey in all honesty. I couldn’t even tell you who keeps for West Indies, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka or Afghanistan as they are that unremarkable right now.
Quiet achiever Carey starting to enter rare air of Australia’s all-time wicketkeeping greats
Surprised his average is worse than Blundell. Most Kiwis I know want him replaced in the test side.
Quiet achiever Carey starting to enter rare air of Australia’s all-time wicketkeeping greats
Agreed, Paine was an exceptional keeper, and his batting was underrated. I think the scandal at the end of his career really tarnished Paine (understandably), but his on field performance as a wk/batsman was first class. His captaincy maybe less so.
Quiet achiever Carey starting to enter rare air of Australia’s all-time wicketkeeping greats
Just another big moral victory in the women’s ashes last night. Well done England.
McCullum unveils blueprint for Bazball pace aces to be firing for Ashes in bid to ‘blow Aussies away’
You haven’t seen Inglis at state level. He’s brilliant. Up to the stumps he is first class. Unfortunately he has spent so much time on the bench as a backup recently.
Quiet achiever Carey starting to enter rare air of Australia’s all-time wicketkeeping greats
hard to get stumpings keeping to lillee and thommo..
Quiet achiever Carey starting to enter rare air of Australia’s all-time wicketkeeping greats
He’s a solid keeper, but if you were picking a keeper purely based on keeping ability, Peirson and Inglis are better at state level currently, and he’s streets behind Paine as a pure gloveman.
It’s his batting, particularly with the tail, that has made him so valuable.
Quiet achiever Carey starting to enter rare air of Australia’s all-time wicketkeeping greats
Yeah that’s possibly my one slight thing on him. I don’t think he is that brilliant a gloveman. Great batsman/keeper, but agree that in recent times, only Wade is worse with the gloves. I would suggest Inglis and Peirson are both better glovemen in shield cricket currently.
I’m not saying Carey should be dropped, he plays his role very well, but we should be honest about his ability with the gloves, it’s ok, without being exceptional.
Quiet achiever Carey starting to enter rare air of Australia’s all-time wicketkeeping greats
maybe? Webster and Konstas both major says in the respective wins in sydney and melbourne, which effectively won the series. Both tests could’ve easily gone the other way.
Aussies surely can’t repeat churn and burn McSweeney mistake with Konstas if Head goes to opener
Meh, Archer’s always injured, Wood can’t back it up test to test. Carse is the one that actually concerns me in Australia.
McCullum unveils blueprint for Bazball pace aces to be firing for Ashes in bid to ‘blow Aussies away’
I understand that Spurs under Levy haven’t won a trophy in 20 years, and have gone through 12 managers in the process.
Something beyond simply the manager is broken.
Ange vows to fight for Spurs redemption as another loss piles on pressure, United worst ever?
They had a 19 year old central midfielder playing centre back, they have a 21 year old in goal, they’ve got one genuine defender available.
The injury crisis is immense.
Ange vows to fight for Spurs redemption as another loss piles on pressure, United worst ever?
A huge moral victory for the English.
'Bazbulls--t': Cricket bible slammed as Test team of the year features zero Aussies, FIVE Poms