St. Kitts, March 27 – Australian all-rounder Nicola Carey is aiming to secure a spot in the squad for the 2026 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, which will be held in England from June 12 to July 5, after returning to the national team during the ongoing tour of the West Indies.
Carey played a key role in Australia's victories at the 2020 T20 World Cup and the 2022 ODI World Cup, before declining a contract from Cricket Australia (CA) due to a lack of playing time. Three years later, Carey was recalled during the recent home series against India and was retained for the tour to the Caribbean.
"Obviously, I haven't been here for a while, but coming back, there are a lot of familiar faces, which is always nice. When you're not involved, you sit back and think, 'I don't know how they do it, not being at home that often.' But when you're in it, you just do it. It's quite fun being around the group," Carey said, according to the ICC on Friday.
With the T20 World Cup approaching, Carey admitted that playing in the tournament is a major motivator for her. "It's a huge tournament. Everyone here would want to be a part of it. That's the goal we're all working towards. Everyone's trying to put their best foot forward. I'm sure we'll find out soon," she said.
Australia won the T20I series 3-0 and are now focusing on the ODIs against the West Indies, their final assignment before the T20 World Cup. The absence of Annabel Sutherland, who was rested to manage her workload, has created opportunities for others, including Carey.
"Belsey is a key player for this team, and when you take her out, it leaves a couple of gaps, both in batting and bowling. There are so many all-rounders, so I guess that's an opportunity for different people to step up," Carey said.
"It's been nice to try different things and open the bowling. I haven't done a lot of that even back home, so it's been cool to experience different things within this team," she added.
Reflecting on the team's transition from T20Is to ODIs, Carey concluded by saying that Australia's plans were coming together. "It's nice to change things up here in St. Kitts, obviously coming off those three T20Is.
"There's a lot we can learn from that. We had a lot of discussions about how we wanted to approach it. I think we're starting to see that come to fruition, which is really pleasing," she concluded.