3 minute read

Brad Haddin sees no reason why Alex Carey shouldn't be Tim Paine's successor when he hangs up the gloves in Test cricket.

Alex Carey's World Cup form has put him in the prime position to one day take over from Tim Paine as Australia's Test wicketkeeper, according to Brad Haddin.

Carey has been one of the stars of Australia's campaign, where has shown maturity beyond his experience as a leader both on and off the field.

He has routinely saved Australia while batting at No.7, hitting a record a 244 runs for a lower order batsman in a single campaign.

The South Australian has largely done his job behind the stumps, dropping a couple of tough chances while otherwise being tidy.

At 27, he still has the bulk of his career ahead of him. Paine meanwhile is aged 34 and making the most of his second chance.

"His name is definitely going to come up in the situation when Tim retires," said Haddin, whose 270 dismissals in 66 Tests is the fourth most for Australian wicketkeepers.

"He's got the inside running with playing one-day cricket. He is handling that well at the moment.

"I know that is a big role of Alex to play Test cricket and I can see no reason why he can't be competing for that spot when Tim hangs up the gloves."

Carey is naturally the most likely candidate, although Matthew Wade is aged 31 and still firing with the bat while Peter Neville has played 17 Tests.

His performances with the bat have also led to some questioning if he should move up higher in the order.

But Haddin was of the belief No.7 could still be an ideal position for a wicketkeeper, particularly given his ability to control an innings.

The left-hander only began seriously pursuing a career in cricket in 2012, after the former AFL prodigy was delisted by GWS when they entered the main competition.

But Haddin believed while his cricket was still steadily improving, his experience in all professional sport was proving beneficial.

"It's just his calmness," Haddin said.

"The way he came into bat the other day at Lord's, we were under a lot of pressure, but he seemed in control straightaway.

"The wicket looked difficult at times to score but the way Alex composed himself and played calm through the innings.

"That just comes from playing more cricket. The one thing we know with Alex is he's started behind from a cricket point but from a professional sports point of view, he's been around it his whole life."