Ashes: Unsurprised by the approach but we aren't tempted - Alex Carey plays down matching ENG's Bazball style

The 2023 Ashes is around six weeks away, and the verbal volleys have already started. From Stuart Broad calling Australia’s 2021/22 Ashes winning campaign as ‘not the real Ashes’ to Ben Stokes coming out and openly admitting to having asked curators to prepare pitches that suit ‘England’s style of play’, Australia’s keeper-batter Alex Carey is all but unfazed by such talks.

Carey, who is now a mainstay in Australia’s Test side, feels as though the team management and players are yet to sit together and chalk out the technical stuff for the away Ashes; he is sure that Australian batters will not get tempted into matching England’s ‘Bazball’ approach – that so far has taken the world by storm.

ALSO READ:IPL 2023: Tom Moody backs MI captain Rohit Sharma amid poor form concern, says he brings a lot to table

Add WION as a Preferred Source

Since the time Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes joined hands, they have reshaped England’s Test team into one of the most lethal units in whites, with records speaking for themselves. Not only did they dominate at home since 2022, but the England team also scripted history by beating Pakistan in Pakistan for the first time. Now, ahead of the 2023 Ashes, they are a team to reckon with.

Speaking with SEN Radio recently, Carey said he heard a few things about England preparing flat and fast pitches and what should be the boundary size at all venues - to which he replied sayingAustralia would deploy a different strategy and not fall into trying to match England’s scoring rate.

"We've heard some stuff in the media what the wickets might be like, the boundaries etc, [and] the way [England] are playing at the moment it is eye-catching," Carey told SEN radio, as quoted by ESPNcricinfo. "I'd like to think we aren't surprised now [with] the way they'll come out and play.

As Australia will play India in the World Test Championship final before taking on England in the first Ashes Test starting June 16th, Carey said he is confident of his team doing well in England as they have played some exciting cricket too over the past two years.

"The tactical stuff will start to take place over the next couple of weeks but I don't see us falling into our batters going out and trying to score the same rate. We'll do it differently; we've had some serious success in the last 18-24 months playing the style we want to play in different conditions and lucky enough to be rewarded with a spot in the World Test Championship [final]. So, we are excited to come over to their backyard and take on a team that's playing some really eye-catching cricket. As a player, it's going to be a hot contest and I'm smiling just thinking about that first Test," Australia’s keeper-batter added.

Off all the players who will travel to England for the extended summer there, Carey is among the ten players who are currently in Australia and will fly at May end, around ten days before the start of the WTC final, scheduled for June 7th in London.

"We'll all come together before that World Test Championship and have our focus solely on that game but with an eye to the first [Ashes] Test match," Carey said.