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“There’s some nasty stuff being said, but it is the Ashes. There was nasty stuff said before that as well. So yeah, I feel really well-supported. I think the whole group does. From Australia, I still think we’ve got lots of fans, and from England, I don’t think we’ve made any, but we probably didn’t lose any.
“The support that I’ve been given here amongst the group – not just myself, I guess the whole group’s had some stuff spoken about them. But we’re really tight. We understand what’s important and who matters, and those guys [the touring party] definitely have our back.”
Australian coach Andrew McDonald also went in to bat for Steve Smith despite the former captain’s meagre returns since moving to the top of the order.Credit: Getty
Speaking before the death threat revelations, coach Andrew McDonald praised Carey for his ability to build pressure after Australia’s second-innings collapse in Christchurch.
“His ability to counterattack and that of the middle order to counterattack as a collective, that shone through today,” McDonald said. “Some of the options he took and the intent that he had.”
McDonald also suggested that Steve Smith looks set for an extended run at the top of the order after labelling criticism of his recent poor output unfair.
Smith finished the two-Test series with an average of 12.75, ahead of only Mitchell Starc’s 12.25, giving Australia’s best since Bradman an average of 28.5 across four Tests opening the batting.
“I don’t think it’s deserved,” McDonald said of the criticism levelled at Smith. “I think he’ll be able to work through that. It’s a new challenge for him. It’s a new position.
“And if you’re bringing in a new opener and you gave them four Test matches and then said, ‘OK, we’re going to shift that after four Test matches’. Would you think that’s fair or unfair? I think it’s reasonably unfair.”
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Australia now have a nine-month break from Test cricket after playing 17 Tests in little more than a year going back to the tour of India. After that they won the World Test Championship against India at the Oval in June, retained the Ashes on enemy soil and claimed the 50-over World Cup during November in India against India.
Despite the break, which will include the Twenty20 World Cup in the West Indies and USA during June, and the ageing nature of the side, McDonald claimed the squad “had the players to take the team forward”.
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