"My wife is the harshest critic of the reverse" - Alex Carey after not attempting the shot on day 4 of WTC final
Australian keeper-batter Alex Carey revealed that his wife Eloise is the harshest critic when it comes to his reverse sweep. The 31-year-old's statement comes after having played none during his innings on day four of the World Test Championship (WTC) final against India.
Carey, prone to get out to reverse sweep often, put it to bed on Saturday (June 10) and instead played a few conventional sweeps. As a result, the left-hander saw some success, scoring a crucial 66 to set India an improbable 444 to win in the fourth innings.
The southpaw revealed that he tries to make his wife understand the rewards associated with the reverse sweep shot. As quoted by Perth Now, he said:
"My wife is the harshest critic of the reverse. She says, 'don't play the bloody reverse sweep, not again! But I just politely tell her, 'you haven't played the game. Yes, you're going to get out to reverse sweeps and sweeps... but it can also produce some success as well."
The South Australian played exceptionally well for his 48 in the first innings of the WTC final until the reverse sweep became his undoing. However, he didn't attempt even once in the second innings.
"The pitch is still doing bits and pieces" - Alex Carey on Australia's prospects on day five
With seven more wickets to get for Australia alongside a cushion of 280 runs, Alex Carey underlined the need for patience. He added:
"We've got the runs on the board that we wanted. It would definitely have been nice to have taken a couple of more wickets but India played well, so we've got to come back and push on tomorrow. They've got two class players in at the moment so we've got to stay patient. The pitch is still doing bits and pieces, but hopefully those chances for us will come."
At Stumps on Day 4, India reached 164-3, with Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane at the crease.