Australian wicketkeeper Alex Carey isn’t convinced he’ll be spared from the Barmy Army in the upcoming Ashes series after he copped torrents of abuse during the 2023 tour of England for his role in a controversial stumping.
English fans turned on Carey at the Lord’s Test after he caught Jonny Bairstow walking out of his crease with a well-timed throw that hit the stumps and sent his rival back to the pavilion.
There were ugly scenes as the members hurled abuse at Australian players as they made their way back to the dressing room, with the stumping becoming one of the most talked about moments of the series.
The incident is still talked about today, but the Barmy Army in Perth have vowed not to bring it up during the first Test starting on Friday.
“That’s nice of them. I don’t know if that (the booing ban) will stand for the whole series,” Carey said.
“I think Ashes series, growing up watching, you’ve got your heroes and you’ve got your villains. It depends what side of the fence you sit on.
“That’s what makes it so special, you’ve got amazing Australian fans supporting us and you’ve got English fans supporting them, and whatever it looks like in between, it makes for great viewing.
“Whatever it looks like for the whole group, not just myself, it should be amazing.”
Meanwhile, Cameron Green is looking forward to bowling in a Test for the first time since March, 2024 in New Zealand.
The talented all-rounder has battled back issues and was recently ruled out of an ODI series against India due to side soreness, but a promising return in the Sheffield Shield earlier this month where he took a wicket and scored 94 has him primed for a big summer.
“It’s been a really slow build up,” he said, with his ability to bowl set to play a huge role in the make-up of the team.
“I probably would have preferred a few more competitive overs, but at the same time, I think it is a double-edged sword.
“I think we’ve come into a series so fresh and I think, especially for a five Test match series, I think you want to be as fresh as you can by the back end (and) I’m feeling really good.”
