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Alex Carey believes Australia's one-day woes against England a year ago have made the team stronger ahead of the World Cup.
Australia's one-day vice-captain Alex Carey believes experiencing two years of white-ball woe has made the team stronger ahead of the Cricket World Cup.
Almost twelve months after being flogged 5-0 by a rampant England side, the defending champions have arrived in London full of confidence after successive series wins against India and Pakistan.
It's a stark contrast to a chastening day in Nottingham last June when Eoin Morgan's side hammered a world record 481 on their way to a staggering 242-run win at Trent Bridge - one of the darkest days in Australia's rich ODI history.
However, fresh coming from 2-0 down to beat India away from home to secure a 3-2 series victory in March followed by a 5-0 success over Pakistan in the UAE, Carey said confidence is high.
The South Australian also reckoned the return of Steve Smith, David Warner and skipper Aaron Finch rediscovering his form, means the team are well placed to lift the World Cup for a sixth time.
"We take a lot out of that (India series)," Carey said.
"The work we've done prior to that started this time last year - a new coach, Justin Langer, a new captain, Aaron Finch.
"We've done so much good work away from the cricket field that a lot of people won't see.
"We take so much confidence out of that. It was great to get that success in India for the hard work we've done and take some momentum into the World Cup.
"But a World Cup is even higher pressure, tournament-based cricket ... we take confidence, but it starts again now."
Carey only played in two of the five matches of that series against England with then-skipper Tim Paine donning the gloves.
But after the Tasmanian walked away from the one-day game to focus solely on leading the Test side, Carey is now the undisputed first-choice stumper - eight years after his AFL dreams were crushed by former GWS coach Kevin Sheedy.
The 27-year-old was delisted by the Giants to make way for the club's plethora of draft picks, just before their debut season in AFL, despite having skippered the club's NEAFL team.
But Carey insists he's not interested in looking back on his past and hugely excited at the prospect of featuring in international cricket's showpiece event.
"I'm really proud of the work I've done to get here," he said.
"Again, let's not get too focused on that (AFL), it's about playing some good cricket along with the other guys ... ultimate success is what we're here for.
"I'll sit back and watch some footy while I'm away but winning games of cricket for Australia is the main focus."
