As the question was asked why Alex Carey wasn't 'keeping in the Champions Trophy opener against England, the Test gloveman proved he doesn't need gloves to snare spectacular catches when he took a screamer to remove Phil Salt.
And his selection as a specialist batter, with Josh Inglis given the gloves, is the culmination of a three-decade trend in one-day cricket, according to former skipper Mark Taylor.
Fielding at mid-on, Carey moved to his right and flew through the air at full stretch to secure the Aussies an early breakthrough.
The "unbelievable" grab was an early candidate for catch of the tournament, and the first of three Carey would take against the Ashes foe.
Carey has a lock on the role as gloveman in the Test set-up, and is widely viewed as a better 'keeper than Inglis, yet when the Australian side is picked in the ODI format at the moment, it's Inglis with the gloves and Carey patrolling the outfield.
That has been the case since Inglis took his chance in Australia's 2023 World Cup triumph.
Speaking to media ahead of Australia's second match against South Africa, Test wicket-keeper Carey admitted he would prefer to be wearing the gloves.
"But it was nice to run around the field … it's a different perspective on the game, standing out at deep square leg and deep point," he told reporters.
Taylor said the trend of selectors picking 'keepers based batting prowess in ODIs has been happening since his own playing days, and pointed to Ian Healy's axing from the white-ball setup in favour of Adam Gilchrist.
"There's no doubt Healy was a better keeper … but Gilly was a more explosive batsman," he told Wide World of Sports.
"Now it's just going to the next level. In these conditions, there are 300 balls, there wouldn't be a lot going through to the keeper."
Carey was picked for the Champions Trophy on batting form in much the same way Inglis was for the Sri Lankan Test tour, where he scored a stunning ton on debut in Galle.
Taylor said the keeping role is becoming less and less important as the white ball game continues to evolve, with an emphasis on batting.
Both Carey and Inglis earned their spots by virtue of being among the top crop of batters in Australia in both red and white-ball cricket.
While its commonplace for a strong fielder to take the gloves in T20s, Taylor stressed it's unlikely to get that far in ODIs.
"I don't like to devalue the position of the keeper because it's a crucial position," he said.
"But on grounds like we're seeing, flat wickets, it's become a less important position. There's so few balls being let go these days or not being played at.
"You need to have a gloveman who's at least handy with the gloves. You want that regulation edge from a good fast bowler taken.
"You don't want to be dropping a top player early doors, and then he goes on to make 100 off 60 balls.
"You don't want to put just anyone there … but there's no doubt you don't necessarily need to pick your country's best keeper if that person can't contribute – sometimes sizeably – with the bat."
Even in the Test side, Australia has a history of selecting specialist 'keepers as batters. Matthew Wade played the first 22 of his 36 Tests behind the stumps before losing his spot to Tim Paine.
He earned a recall in 2019 as a batter, and played 14 more Tests.
Taylor said the Sri Lankan tour was proof Inglis and Carey could co-exist in the same team, and insisted any friction that could arise from their continued selection in the same team would be "for the greater good".
"Carey has proven in recent times that he's been the better keeper, mainly because he's getting more experienced than Inglis because he's been playing longer on the international scene," Taylor said.
"But if Inglis is the next best batter in the country, I think you're going to see more of this.
"There's no doubt they can coexist.
It might sound a bit strange, but Inglis keeping in one-dayers and Carey keeps in Test matches keeps them both fresher and also keeps a bit of competition, friendly rivalry within the side, which is also a good thing.
"You don't always have to be getting on as best mates all the time to be a very good cricket side – a little bit of internal competition is a good thing. It's about pushing people to get better all the time.
"If you can help each other out to do that for the greater good – where Carey gets better because Inglis is pushing him, and Inglis is getting better because Carey's pushing him – that's what you need more than everyone being best mates and no one getting better.
"It's more important to have competition and potentially a bit of friction, than everyone patting each other on the back saying how good we are and and the side not getting better."
Victory against South Africa on Tuesday night would lock Australia in to the semi finals, but they'll have a final chance to progress when they play their final match against Afghanistan on Friday.
Author – Damien McCartney
Source: https://www.nine.com.au/sport/cricket/champions-trophy-2025-alex-carey-wicketkeeping-admission-josh-inglis-australia-v-south-africa-preview-20250225-p5lezc.html
