Australia have confirmed that Alex Carey will take Tim Paine's role as wicket-keeper for the first two Ashes Tests against England.
Last month, Paine announced that he was taking a break from the sport, a consequence of his resignation as skipper for texts sent to a colleague several years ago.
Despite having yet made his Test debut, Carey was always the favourite to succeed Paine, and his place was confirmed by Cricket Australia on Thursday morning.
Speaking after being named in the squad for the first two games, Carey said: "I am incredibly humbled by this opportunity. I will be doing my absolute best to make our country proud."
The 30-year-old holds a solid record in one-day internationals, scoring at an average of 36.45 across his 45 appearances.
The series is scheduled to get underway in Brisbane on December 8, although the length of the series is yet to be confirmed due to the emergence of the Omicron coronavirus variant. body check tags ::
