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Cape Town - Former Australia wicketkeeper Ian Healy lauded incumbent Alex Carey for his dependability, and said he expects the young South Australian to come good at the Cricket World Cup 2019.
Carey will be Australia’s frontline wicketkeeper, as well as the only specialist in the trade. He will also serve as Aaron Finch’s deputy at the tournament - a big responsibility for someone just 19 one-day internationals old.
"He rarely plays in a team that is not successful, which is a great sign," Healy said of Carey.
Carey is still finding his feet at this level, especially with the bat, averaging 30.64 for his 429 runs. However, it is important to look at the context in which he has made those runs - Carey has not had the luxury of a settled position, having batted in five different places in 17 ODI innings.
"We have expected too much of his batting,” Healy said.
“It has been under pressure, but he has still done enough for me with the bat, and we are going to see further improvements. He is going to be good.”
Healy also put over Carey’s glovework and was complimentary of his technique. However, he was wary of the lack of back-up for the wicketkeeper batsman, after Australia’s selectors picked Steve Smith ahead of Peter Handscomb.
"That is our one weak point,” Healy said.
“If Alex goes down in warm-ups, Peter would have been good as a back-up in the middle too.”
