Australia wicketkeeper batter Alex Carey is in the form of his life as he heads into the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
All credits to the subtle adjustments made over time that have proven to be the catalyst that has propelled his growth.
The 33-year-old wicketkeeper-batter is the leading run-getter in the first four rounds of Australia's domestic tourney Sheffield Shield matches this season, scoring 452 runs at an astonishing average of 90.4.
"It's only slight, but at the moment, it feels like I'm in a good position and reacting pretty well to the ball," Carey said after Australia's first team training session in Perth.
Carey said that he got the opportunity to "muck round" during the six-month break over the winter.
"You play and play and play, you don't really get a chance to work on too many things,” Carey added.
"Not having games coming up for a while, I've just mucked around a little bit with my hands and found something that felt good and sort of ran with that,” he continued.
He added that the new stance, where he holds his bat up a little higher, affords him additional reaction time.
"I just got my hands up a little bit higher, the bat up to the sky and from there just tried to react. It did feel good pretty much straight away, so I didn't have to search too much,” Carey added.
According to Travis Head, “Carey not only enters the marquee five-match Test series against India as their most in-form player but also in "the best form he's been in.”
"For him, it's trying not to overplay it and not worry about too much. I know he's not. I think he's in a great space, has been for a while and now it's starting to click for him," Head said.
"And once you sort of capture that form, you want to try to continue it on again,” he continued.
Head reckons the wicketkeeper will play an influential role in the series against India, starting on Friday.
"You're never guaranteed that happens, but I think he's going to play a huge role in his position and in this team,” Head added.
However in a surprise move, Australia also named wicketkeeper batter Josh Inglis in the squad for the series opener.
Inglis boasts the only superior Sheffield Shield batting average, an astounding 99, along with the same number of centuries as Carey.
But Carey is not bothered by Inglis' inclusion.
"I understand it's a unique position to be in," Carey said.
"There's one wicketkeeper in a team, and there's lots of quality players around the country who are trying to get that spot, and I was one of those players one day,” he added.
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