Alex Carey believes the heroes and villains aspect of cricket is what makes the Ashes so special, after welcoming suggestions that the Barmy Army will not boo him.
Australia wicketkeeper Carey would naturally expect to be in the crosshairs of the estimated 7,500 England fans in Friday’s first Test, following his part in the most acrimonious incident of the 2023 series – Jonny Bairstow’s dismissal at Lord’s.
However, responding to claims from Barmy Army coordinator Alison Foskett that the away sections of the 60,000 crowd ‘absolutely won’t’ heckle him, Carey said: ‘That’s nice of them.
‘I don’t know if that will stand for the whole series, but I know from watching Ashes series growing up, you’ve got your heroes, you’ve got your villains, depends which side of the fence you sit on, and what makes it so special is that we’ve got amazing Australian fans supporting us and you’ve got English fans supporting them.
‘Whatever it looks like in between, it makes for great viewing, so, I’m excited. It should be amazing.’
Tempers flared two years ago when Carey stumped Bairstow at the end of an over, when the ball was still alive, leading to a fevered debate on whether the Australians had played to the spirit of the game and the Lord’s crowd jeering the tourists for the remainder of England’s defeat.
England’s pantomime Ashes villain, Alex Carey, has claimed it will be ‘nice’ of the Barmy Army to not boo him during the upcoming series
Barmy Army coordinator Alison Foskett said that the away sections of the 60,000 crowd ‘absolutely won’t’ heckle him
Carey was thrust into the spotlight after he controversially stumped England’s Jonny Bairstow (second from left) at Lord’s during the 2023 Ashes series, with Ben Stokes’ side claiming the dismissal wasn’t in the ‘spirit of cricket’
It also led to the Australian team being jeered and jostled by MCC members when they walked through the Long Room at lunch.
The Barmy Army have been given the bottom tier on the east side of the Perth Stadium, meaning they will be pitchside.
One of their most regular chants during Ashes matches of recent times has been directed at Steve Smith – ‘We saw you cry on the telly’ – in relation to the Australian’s tearful reaction during Sandpapergate.
Meanwhile, England were given a pre-series boost when Mark Wood came through half an hour’s bowling on the pacy practice pitches at the ground, following last week’s hamstring scares, strengthening the prospect of England fielding a five-man seam attack later this week.
