Alex Kerrey's pathway to a baggy green was anything but straightforward, and that's what makes his story so compelling.

Before becoming Australia's number one wicket keeper, Alex chased a different thread playing in the AFL with the Giants.

Now, as cricket's greatest rivalry begins its next chapter, the man who was front and center in last series steps back into the spotlight.

Alex Carey is unfiltered.

It was Ben Hookill, captain at glenel Yep.

Did he ever crack at you about giving up your wicked easily?

One day?

Yes?

He did.

I reckon.

I was fourteen or fifteen and I've made my debut for Glenold District Ruite Club in the A grade.

I was batting and I just left a ball outside off start to I don't know who was buying at the time against Adelaide District Cruit Club and Josh McLean, who's he's done a bit of news reporting actually was.

The wicket keeper.

Caught it, roll the ball back onto the stumps and they started appealing and I was looking around like what's going on and the umpire square they had his finger up and I'd been stumped, walked in the change rooms and yeah, Hookie had a few words to me, and it's fair to say that I haven't been stumped that way and again, so yeah, that was pretty good learnings.

I think for a young kid to cop some advice from it from a senior player.

The irony of that as a fourteen year old and then as a thirty year old, Yeah, yeah, that's right.

Good evening.

Cheating claims have erupted at the Ashes, with the Australian team abused by MCC members inside the Lord's long room.

Or now this is going to be interesting at the Home of Cricket when it's make to unsporting treachery by Australia.

Well, I can't imagine we were having to be anytime soon.

Would I want to potentially win a game with something like that happening?

There would be no When did you know it was going to become a fire storm straight away?

Did you waiting for the review or nah?

Well yeah, yeah, I guess we did.

Yeah, because while the booz started to come over Lord's pretty much straight away, and I actually thought we dealt with it really well.

You play sport by the laws of the game and you accept the umpire's decision.

And these are the things I was brought up with.

So if you look back at it, would you do anything differently?

No, you wouldn't.

So I thought we handled it really well.

We cracked on with the game.

You know, we didn't over celebrate when we won that Test match.

But yeah, you knew pretty much straight away when the booze came and Broady walked out to bad and I think he said to me, that's all you ever be remembered for.

Remember that, do you ever remember ship?

Yeah, amazing ashes cricket And then you walk through the long room and the booze continue to come and lie on a morning when we out there at Laws, I've never seen anything like it at the home of Trippet.

It was just totally different environment to what anyone's ever experienced at Lord's.

And look again, I wouldn't change anything.

I even wouldn't withdraw the appeal, wouldn't withdraw the pill.

I wouldn't.

I wouldn't change the amount of abuse or emotion that come from it from the English crowd either.

I think that just it makes for amazing viewing and sport, and you know I love I love live sport.

And you know some of the stuff can't be scripted.

It's just and you can't take your eyes off it.

And you look at that whole series.

You got the night.

Before Stark takes the catch and he slides the ball and it's deemed not out, and you know, the last last day at the oval, the ball change.

You know that that probably doesn't get spoken about as much.

And then I got said I didn't have a pay for my haircard.

And there's all these little things that series that it's just I'll always remember it as you know, just an amazing, entertaining series of cricket.

I feel like this series doesn't have to be promoted too much.

It's already done.

The work's done for it.

So the learning from the Johnny Best a piece from your endies.

Yeah, not to be affected by external noise.

Yeah yeah, and you were Yeah, I think I think so.

I probably you probably second guess yourself at the time just because of what's being said your way.

I get abused if I make a hundred, I get abused if I make a duck, Like that's pretty much pretty natural.

But I think just because there's so much of it and you're in England, it's hard to escape.

Potentially through that series, there was just little moments where I may may have been a little bit distracted, but you.

Know, that's life.

I think it's and it's probably fair just the amount of emotion that was around there to be distracted at times.

But it's hard to.

Escape all that noise when you know it's pretty much a country going all at one.

But you did have the whole of the English cricket family attacking it.

Yep.

Yeah, and that's but that's Ash's cricket as well, I reckon.

I think normally I attach the team of the individual.

Yeah, there was, it was I guess there's an opportunity, right for some pretty good media to come on the back of that, and.

We'd gone to nil up as well, so it was an opportunity.

I guess, to to throw everything they can at us or me or whatever it is.

But I think looking back on it, you probably read a little bit too much into it, and that's probably something I've learned, is that for a cricketing act like the amount of abuse was pretty pretty unwarranted, I thought, But again, that's that's totally open and we play sport and we're in the arena and whatever comes your way, you know, you accept and I guess you don't ever love hearing that amount of abuse come your way.

But when you actually now sit back and look at it all your yeah, I guess you learned to deal with that a bit better.

How would you have gone without an unbelievably supportive.

Wife, Oh yeah, I would have struggled, I reckon, Yeah, I think.

For her to just to be over there and support.

Firstly, the kids were over there as well, so at times she probably had to block their ears with some of the stuff that was coming out.

But no, she was she and I mentioned it.

You know, I met her when I was twenty and through that bumpy period was able to come out at the end of it and achieve and experience some amazing things.

And again through that little period, it's you know, a lot goes down to eloise and the.

Love, the support, I guess, the encouragement.

You know, as sports people, you have you have good days, you have a lot of bad days, and it's about finding that balance in between.

And with her and now the kids, it's really easy.

To find out, what's the most difficult time you've ever had to navigate with cricket.

I lost my spot in the World Cup.

Twenty twenty three World Cup team after the first first match against India, and that was a difficult period because, yeah, you're overseas, you're in India.

You know, it's probably pretty hard to get back into that team in a tournament.

So you've got your fifteen squad members and I'd lost my spot in the eleven.

So initially you're pretty devastated because you really want to be a part of that.

And then I also find like the experience I've had is all right, that's just a little setback.

How can I be the best team mate?

So that was a tough, tough day or two to navigate, but turned in to be one of the most amazing couple of months winning the World Cup and witnessing what we witnessed with Maxi's two hundred and you know, from being on the canvas almost to winning it was, Yeah, it was amazing.

So then take me to the moment where everything felt perfect in terms of the people around you, the moment you're in.

If I could give you the best moment again you've ever felt in sport doesn't need to be cricket, No.

I think it's pretty recent.

I reckon for me, the Sheffield Shield final will go down as a really memorable couple of days.

But I think that that final day was you know, I'd been twenty nine.

To thirty years since we won the Shefford Shield.

And he asked if I would like to go to Western Sydney and be a rookie at the GWS Giants.

I was always a better cricketer, That's why I wanted footy a little bit more so.

Is it myth or truth that one spot comes down to a four hundred meter time trip?

Pretty much?

Childhood hero presenter Baggy Green, Welcome to West Paggy speaking with Alex or something like that.

The Giants are starting up this club.

And were you aware of what was happening?

Not really.

I think there's whispers, but it was always eyes were set on the draft, if not rookie draft, and you sort of hope you'll be fine and you get picked up in one of them, but with luck not going my way.

Yeah, I think it was around maybe later in November December.

Alan McConnell called me out of the blue and I was playing cricket at that time with Glen elg and he asked if I would like to go to Western Sydney and be a rookie at the GWS Giants, And yeah, it didn't take me too long to say yes.

I think missing out on the.

Draft in footy, I was still pretty hungry to chase the footy dream at the time.

So the lifelong gets thrown, you end up captain of the Giants.

You're in the best and fairest they come in in twenty twelve.

What does Kevin Sheedy see in twenty eleven?

Yeah, well things were tracking pretty well.

Yeah, I thought my footy was on a pretty good path and my game was developing.

Spent two years in Western Sydney and thoroughly enjoyed it and learned a lot about myself.

But when the end of season review came around and she says John to grab a quick coffee, I think your mind pretty much goes to I'm not sure which way this is going.

When we sat down in the Rudy Hill RSL cathe and he said we don't have a contract for you.

You know, that's pretty much the last words I heard.

And I was, you know, going back to South Australia the next day.

What was the rationale, too slow, not big enough.

I was more of a footballer, so felt like I moved around the ground pretty well, was able to find the footy, didn't burst through contests.

Couldn't run.

I could run all day, but it was at a pretty you know, leisurely pace.

So my two k time trials were nothing special.

But yeah, I thought I had the attributes as a footballer.

And you get back to the point.

Yeah, She's message was basically, with all the draft.

Picks coming in.

And the and the senior players they were recruiting, like James McDonald's and Luke Powers, the list base just ran out and my two year contract had had run out, so it was probably easier for them not to not to recontract me and fill it with some youth and some senior players.

So when you leave Sydney and go home, are you thinking there is still a career in football or do you think I'm going to become a cricketer or do you think who knows where this goes?

Certainly thought there was still a pathway and footy Yep.

Yeah, it jumped on the front foward and ended up at Glenelg Footy Club and did the full pre season with Glenelg Seniors and then it came time where almost cricket came back around, and after doing the full pre season, I told Glenelg Footy club that I wasn't going to play the footy season with them and I decided to do a cricket preseason with the emerging Redbacks at the time.

But didn't really fall in love with cricket straight away and I didn't play cricket at a high level when I got back either.

It was just Adelaide suburban turf cricket, which is your club cricket as opposed to district cricket.

And I was playing a little bit of footy that winter.

Was that with Marion?

That was with Marion?

Yeah, yep, yep.

So I saw doing a bit of a cricket pre season then playing a local footy at Christian Brothers Old Collegians.

I didn't go to that school, but yeah, just for some cash because I didn't have a job.

So yeah, it was a little bit muddled for a while.

I was always a better cricketer and there was something that I think maybe that's why I wanted footy a little bit more, was just to chase that you desire to be on the big stage with the big crowds.

But you see now with Big Bash it's certainly just as exciting as a footy season.

It's hard to imagine sitting here now at thirty four yeap having kept the Nerdy Eye team's vice Captain of the Country about by another ashes series.

Yeah, some turns along way.

So at what point do you spend a pre season at Port?

Yeah, that was during the draft, not getting drafted, yep, before the rookie draft.

And I had about six or seven boys from South Australia go to Port for that that week leading into the rookie draft.

And so is it myth or truth that one spot comes down to a four hundred meter time trial?

Yeah, one hundred percent true, is it?

Yeah?

It is.

Yeah, it was a it was a solid week training pretty hot through the summer as well, dry heat of adelaide, dry heat of adelaide out at Alberton.

Hadn't been out to Alburnu too many times.

You try to stay away from that place when you plan at Gleneld And yeah, we've basically done the whole week.

Thought it gone pretty well, and I think there was about six or seven four hundreds thrown at the end of it, and we've done you know, five or six at the time, and we're struggling to get through it.

And while I was anyway, and then the last one, yeah, chuck o, Mark said, rightoh boys, the winner of this will get a rookie contract with Port Adelais Football Club.

And I hadn't won one, so my hopes weren't high.

But as you do, you have a crack.

And the winner of that one was Cam Hitchcock, who did up yeah, finding his way to the list.

And I don't know if he was already going to go there or if it just worked out that way.

So back to the cricket.

You come back, tell Glenelg footy club.

I'm focusing on cricket.

End up playing sort of various leagues.

When does the world change for you in cricket.

I went out to Glenelg District Cricket Club again and that's when the cricket got a bit more serious.

I still had to work through the week.

And Monday to Friday.

What are you doing?

I had a.

Couple of little jobs.

I ended up at Westpac call center for a little while.

And how do you answer the phone?

Welcome to west Pack.

You're speaking with Alex or something like that.

I was in an inbound phone call, so problems west Pack had called and the customer return the call ready to yeah, deliver the message.

So I was I was taking the phone calls back in and yeah, great experience.

And that's when I reckon life was at a pretty good balance.

You'd worked through the week, go out, love your cricket on the weekend train Tuesday, Thursday nights, and my cricket was going okay.

I wouldn't say I was dominating this season, but South Australia hadn't had their best year and I made a few runs at the top of the order for Glenelg and then got selected for some second eleven cricket and then at the back of that summer I think it's twelve thirteen, I got selected to play first class cricket.

So made my debut for South Australia, which happened pretty quickly.

I wasn't expecting it.

After that first year, ended up with a rookie contract that next year, so that was my job sorted.

I was training again full time cricket, but I reckon I averaged maybe less for Glenelg the next year, and I got delisted from my rookie contract in probably yeah, thirteen four, when I was what's that, twenty two to twenty three years of age.

So at this point you've been overlooked in the draft.

Yeah, told there's no contract with the Giants, lost the four hundred, no opportunity at port, delisted from the second contract.

Look, I guess I was really fortunate that I always had amazing support, so it never felt like the end of the world with any of these things.

Yeah, the end of the road it was.

It was just a little setback when you look at it now.

But from yeah, losing that second or that rookie contract, I went over to England and played local cricket for one winter and it actually fell in love with cricket again.

Did what I did through the week, did a bit of travel, played cricket on the weekend off Broadway.

Yeah, just yeah, played club cricket and that's probably.

When I started to play my best sport, best cricket anyway and.

Win in a couple of years you're playing for Australia.

Happened pretty quickly from there.

Yeah, So played the last three games of the Shield season, ends up playing in the Shield Final that year and we lost that one.

Then the next full full summer round, you know, full time cricketer again, form was pretty good.

I think I played my first Big Bash and had a pretty solid Big Bash and that's where I got selected to play an od I.

For Australia.

And I made a hundred the night before against Hobart in the Big Bash, and then the phone rang I think it was Trevor Hones, selector at the time, asked if I would like to come to Brisbane because Payney was sick and come up there and cover him in case he doesn't get up for the ODI against England, and I said yes absolutely, so jumped on the plane and.

Yeah.

From playing Adelaide over the night before to getting on the plane and then waking up and officially finding out I'm going to debut for Australia is yeah, boyhood dreams.

So Ian heally presents your ode I cap Gilly three years later says welcome to the big show, Baggy Green.

That is the pinnacle and then you take eight catches and never look back.

I guess, yeah, A little bit hard to explain how I found my way there.

But again I think just through so many life lessons and little setbacks.

You know, I just held the bag of green and had to look at it for a while and take it all in and you sort of think about, you know, the journey that it was to get there, and you know the people that helped you get there as well.

You're playing for everyone.

But yeah, to be able to experience that and have my pretty much childhood hero presenter Baggy Green, Yes.

It's amazing.

Do you look at the schoolbook at times?

Yeah, I think it was on about ninety eight and it was drinks break.

You're going to hand over the baton to you as the song master and game a big hargan.

Kerry bring it shot or beautifully played by Kerry's played that well edge and picked up by Kerry.

Your best innings ever any level, any age group.

An My favorite innings would probably be christ Church.

Yeah, made ninety eight not out and we were able to get over the line in a Test match.

That was a good good day.

We're chastened to eighty and I think we were five for five for eighty and Mitch and I were.

Able to put one hundred odd and get over the line.

So that was.

That was a good one.

Making a turn at the MG second keeper for Australia ever to do.

So take me inside the cauldron, raising the bout, looking about.

Yeah, we had a really good day of the day before, I think with bold South Africa out and then Davy got his two hundred and come off with cramp and it was all looking pretty good, and I reckon Greenie got busted his finger as well, so I walked out as a he was not out retired, hurt, and I had a couple of overs to navigate that.

Then walk out the next day and Trav got out pretty early.

Davy walks out to bat and then he gets out first ball on two hundred, and then Greennie walks out to bat with a busted finger, and yeah, we just sort of got a partnership going together, and feel my drives were coming off nicely.

And then you sort of tried not to look at the scoreboard too much, like to stay really focused.

But do you look at the scoreboard though that time?

Don't look at that red light.

Oh yeah, that sort of feeling, it was quite I think it was on about ninety eight and it was drinks break, but I didn't want drinks break.

I just wanted to keep playing, So that was about five minutes to think about what might be this.

Time he put bound ball, it's through and Alex carry the century on the NCG.

What am I going?

It is for him?

As soon as it come off the bat at beat cover and I knew.

There was at least two in it and took off and I think tapped in and then a bit of a smile on my face running back through and even Camen Green the way that he sort of handed it out there and his emotion as well was fantastic.

He's a good mate.

But to be able to raise the arms in the bat on the MCG to make a Test one hundred was dream come true.

It's yeah, it sure was.

And Eloise and the kids were there, Mom and Dad were back home and yeah.

Lots of support after him.

Love.

When I'm in the rooms post football wins, there's always someone that's in charge of the club song.

Yep, you've basically given it because you loved it mine and good for the role.

Who said to you Alex it's time.

Yeah.

Nathan Lyon he'd had that role for you know, probably near one hundred test matches.

He received it from Michael Hussey.

So they annoyed the next Yeah, so.

It's up to up to the song master at the time, is at the future time to hand the bat on song master?

Yeah, embroidered anywhere on a blazer.

Or nah, No, just Pride.

It was.

Before the first Test match in the West Indies.

We've been to the UK, just lost the World Test Championship.

But Nathan had been messaging me for a few days, so I need to catch up with you need to catch out.

I was all right, catch up and I see him.

I see him every day anyway.

But yeah, before that first Test match he walked into to my hotel room and had an envelope handed it over and I thought, what's going on here and opened to up.

He wrote a beautiful letter and yeah said on it you know you're going to hand over the baton to you as the song master and game a big hargan.

Yeah.

Yeah, and I guess I'm lucky.

It didn't take too long to be able to sing that first song after a Test win.

You've had a number label journey football didn't quite work out, but to be a captain and of the best and fairest on a list like the Giants showdowns will still be one without you, but we need you to keep bringing it throughout.

Thank you very much for being a part of Unfielded and thank you for doing so much for thanks watching on it.

So much, but I really appreciate it.

Thank you.