WI vs AUS: Alex Carey named Australia skipper as Aaron Finch misses out to injury 

Alex Carey has been named Australia's 26th ODI captain after Aaron Finch sustained an injury ahead of the side's ODI series against the West Indies. The wicket-keeper batsman will take over the leadership responsibilities in the absence of deputy Pat Cummins.

Finch's re-aggravated knee injury rules him out of the first ODI against the West Indies at Barbados. He had reportedly been carrying a niggle throughout the T20I series as well. The opener's injury "will be assessed on a day-to-day basis," according to Cricket Australia.

A big congrats to Alex Carey who will become the 26th man to captain Australia in ODI cricket tomorrow!Aaron Finch has been ruled out of the #WIvAUS series opener with a knee injury. pic.twitter.com/7q2AVGeazk

— Cricket Australia (@CricketAus) July 19, 2021

The squad is also devoid of senior members like Steve Smith and David Warner, who have previously led the nation in the format. Alex Carey was earlier nominated as the co-vice captain of the squad ever since becoming a regular in white-ball cricket. However, he was removed from the role as Australia opted to go for a single vice-captain in the form of Pat Cummins.

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Alex Carey honored to lead young Aussie outfit

Carey has also previously been the captain of the Australia A side, the Adelaide Strikers and South Australia. He expressed his pleasure upon receiving the responsibility of captaining the team.

"To captain Australia is one of the greatest privileges in sport and an honour I am extremely thankful to receive. Finchy is our captain and we will welcome him back with open arms when he is fully fit, so for now I hope I can fill the role to his extremely high standards."

Alex Carey has a relatively young and inexperienced squad at his helm. In the absence of pivotal senior members, the visitors are likely to deploy several ODI debutants to counter West Indies.

Get to know a little more about Alex Carey - the 26th ODI captain of the Australian Men's Cricket Team! #DirectHit | #WIvAUS pic.twitter.com/zJ0XllMNH2

— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) July 19, 2021

Carey has been a vital cog in the Australian white ball setup and even kept wickets for the team at the 2019 ICC World Cup. He has been tipped to take over the gloves from Tim Paine in the longest format as well once the Test skipper's playing days are over.

"The injury to Finchy gives Alex an opportunity for his first experience as captain. I have no doubt he will do a fantastic job with the support of the other senior players," Australia head coach Justin Langer stated.

Alex Carey's deputy for the fixture will be announced tomorrow, ahead of the first ODI.

Australia will look to avoid a repeat of the T20 series, where they were comprehensively defeated by a 4-1 margin.