‘For the ages’: Carey’s emotional tribute to late father in perfect response to Ashes drama

Lauded for his magnificent wicketkeeping in Brisbane, Alex Carey has delivered another demonstration of his brilliance in Adelaide, but this time with the willow when scoring a sublime century on his home ground.

Continuing a stunning year with the bat in which he tops Australian averages, an emotional Carey paid tribute to his late father Gordon, who died in September, in front of a record home crowd of more than 56,000 fans at Adelaide Oval.

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Carey, who shifted his scoring rate according to the circumstances of play on a day Australia has been under pressure, brought up his century with a drive through the off-side off the bowling of English captain Ben Stokes as the crowd chanted his name.

As he was scampering back for his 100th run, he began pumping his fist in triumph and raised his arms to the air in a gesture of celebration as he received a standing ovation from all at Adelaide Oval. In the stands, his wife Eloise was weeping with joy.

Australian great Adam Gilchrist, who presented Carey with his ‘Baggy Green’ cap ahead of his debut in Brisbane in 2021, was full of praise for the left-hander after he delivered a century “for the ages” in front of family, friends and fans.

“It is an emotional hundred for a quality cricketer. It is his third in Test cricket. His first in an Ashes. That one is for you, dad,” Gilchrist said on Kayo Sports’ coverage of the Ashes.

“He was brilliant with the gloves up in Brisbane, next level, and he has brought it to his home ground with the bat. What a magical moment here at an amazing cricket ground. So many extraordinary feats have been carried out at this venue and that is one for the ages, an Ashes hundred to Alex Carey.”

Carey, who was a talented footballer who spent time with Greater Western Sydney before returning to South Australia to pursue a career in cricket, paid tribute to his dad as a “coach, mentor and mate” after his death in September.

“To make 100 here in front of home fans and family was special. And I guess you know, as well, why I was looking to the heavens. I will try not to tear up but, no, it was great. And (with) my mum, brother, sister, Eloise, the kids (there), it was a great moment,” Carey, who was out for 106 late in the day, told Fox Cricket after stumps.

“Dad played the biggest role, probably, with my cricket. He coached me all the way through, as dads want to do, and sort of let me go once I got into my older teenage years. But he would always shoot a message (to me) … it was great. I won’t go into too much depth, but it was a special moment for myself and for the family too.”

The left-hander, elevated to No.6 recently given the strength of his batting form, arrived at the crease with Australian under pressure at 4-94 but signalled his intent in the infancy of his innings with some aggressive stroke play.

Carey, whose maiden Test century was secured at the MCG against South Africa in 2022, scored his second hundred for the year after a stirring 156 against Sri Lanka in February. But this is an inning to savour on a scorching day at home.

The 34-year-old, who has also made another three half-centuries this year including a 63 at the Gabba as an anchor in the middle order, is in the form of his life and gave South Australian fans reason to cheer throughout a superb innings.

Alyssa Healy, a fellow wicketkeeper-batter who captains Australia’s women’s cricket team, said the fact Carey was batting in front of a specialist batter was an indication of his form.

“To have him in your team as a wicketkeeper batting at six and have a specialist batter batting below him, I think it is just a sign of how good he is going and how much trust they have in him with the bat in hand,” she said on Kayo Sports’ coverage of the Ashes.

Carey was a central figure in the acrimonious Lord’s Test in 2023, his sharp-thinking leading to the stumping of counterpart Jonny Bairstow.

But he suffered a dip in form following the future and ultimately lost his spot in the infancy of Australia’s ODI World Cup triumph in India later that year to Josh Inglis.

“You cast your mind back to Lord’s in 2023 and all the commentary … about the role Alex Carey played in what was, very simply, a legal dismissal in the game of cricket,” Gilchrist said.

“He was roasted and toasted and so many questioned the integrity of what took place but I think, as time has transpired, everyone agrees it was a simple act in a game of cricket that was well within the laws.

“He had to carry that and I am sure there might have been moments of self-doubt and uncertainty, but such is the quality of the man and his character, he knew right from wrong and he just became more determined to work harder to become an integral part of this Australian cricket team. His stock grows every day.”

The South Australian tinkered with his batting technique in the lead-in to last year’s Border-Gavaskar Trophy and performed soundly in a difficult series for Australian batters given the brilliance of Jasprit Bumrah.

Having cemented his spot as Australia’s red ball wicketkeeper, he has blossomed with both the gloves and the bat and is proving a thorn in the side of the English team this summer.

Carey acknowledged the challenging position Australia found itself in when Marnus Labuschagne and Cameron Green fell to Jofra Archer in the first over after lunch, which left the hosts teetering at 4-94.

He and Usman Khawaja, who batted superbly when scoring 82 as a late replacement for the unwell Steve Smith, put on a 91-run stand to settle Australia, which was 8-326 at stumps, with Mitchell Starc unbeaten on 33 and Nathan Lyon yet to score.

“I went out there in a little sticky situation … straight after lunch and (it was good) to build a partnership with Usman, who we saw back into this team,” he said.

“It is never good losing such a quality player as Steve Smith early in the day, but for Usman to come out when … there’s been a lot spoken about him, and we know how good a player he is and his record speaks for itself, but that’s a quality 80.

“I guess for both of us, we wanted bigger hundreds to really drive the game, but to be eight down for over 300 on day one, it’s not a bad situation (and) hopefully we can keep scoring runs in the morning and then our bowlers can go to work.”

Gilchrist, who praised Carey’s deeds behind the stumps in Brisbane, lauded his efforts as wickets fell around him in Adelaide and said the innings was a continuation on of the example he has set throughout 2025.

“It’s been a fine year for Alex. I think we all agree his value to the Australian team has been increasing almost Test match by Test match,” he said.

“I always had this feeling that he was just going to break through eventually with purely batting form and maintain his spot as a batter, but his keeping is just sublime at the minute.

“I think it is how work ethic and just his desire to improve and do all the little, minor things at training, that is what has seen his performance get elevated. He has been feeling good with the bat and the gloves all year … and he is such a reliable cricketer.”

The Australian wicketkeeper credited the environment around the side for helping him rebound from the disappointment of the World Cup and find his groove with both the gloves and the bat.

“I’m always looking to improve, and today, getting out just over 100, you want that big score and I’ve got to be better next time,” he said.

“But the game is always presenting opportunities to learn from and I feel like I’m learning little bits as we go along.”