Carey sees opportunity in tough start for T20 World Cup hosts Australia
The Australia v Pakistan clash will open the tournament on 24 October, at the Sydney Cricket Ground. The hosts will then take on the Caribbean side, the two-time champions, on 28 October at the Perth Stadium.
"It's a solid start for us," said Carey, after the fixtures were announced on Tuesday, 29 January. "We’ve got Pakistan, ranked No.1 [on the MRF Tyres ICC T20I Team Rankings], then we come up against West Indies. So for us, it’s really exciting to play against the best really early in the competition."
Steven Smith Match Hero for Australia v PAK ICC WT20 2016
Watch how Steven Smith became a Match Hero for Australia against Pakistan in Match 26 of the ICC World Twenty20 India 2016.
Carey believes that in a tournament situation, building up momentum as the matches go on is vital. "We’ve seen in the Big Bash getting momentum going into the final is so crucial – so to start thinking about it is pretty exciting."
Despite the home advantage, Australia have their task cut out. They have, after all, never won the premier T20 competition. Despite all their success in the 50-over World Cup, which they have won five times, their big-match temperament hasn't been at the same level in the T20 event.
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Their best performance was in 2010 in the West Indies, when they beat Pakistan in a memorable semi-final to reach the final. The semi-final performance was thanks to a virtuoso effort by Michael Hussey, who slammed 60* off 24 balls when the chips were down. In the final, however, they lost to England, who played a tight game.
They made it to the semi-final in 2007 and 2012 as well, but overall, they've fallen short of their own high standards. In 2016, unable to settle on a batting order that worked well for them, they lost to New Zealand and hosts India in their group, and failed to progress to the knock-out stage.
The @scg will host the opening match of the #T20WorldCup Super 12 with hosts Australia taking on Pakistan.
— T20 World Cup (@T20WorldCup) January 28, 2019
England will face South Africa on a Friday night and India play in the crucial last match of the Super 12 against rising force Afghanistan. pic.twitter.com/b4d2Frv13e
Apart from Pakistan and the Windies, Australia also have the dangerous New Zealand in their group, along with two teams from the group stage who will join them in the Super 12. With their trans-Tasman neighbours their final match before the knock-outs, they will know they can't rest easy at all.
They will want all the home support that they can get. Carey, for one, is looking forward to playing at electric stadiums. "For the World Cup, to have all the countries here, the Indian fans, the Afghanistan fans … shivers down the spine already!"