Alex Carey on verge of breaking Adam Gilchrist's 24-year-old record

KARACHI: Alex Carey is on the brink of breaking Adam Gilchrist's long-standing record of scoring the most Test runs in a calendar year by an Australian wicketkeeper-batter as the home side gear up for the fourth Ashes Test against England, scheduled to be played in Melbourne from December 26 to 30.

Carey has been one of Australia's most consistent batters in the longest format this year, having accumulated 743 runs in 15 innings at an average of 53.07 with the help of two centuries and four fifties.

The 34-year-old has been equally impressive in the ongoing Ashes as he is currently the second-leading run-getter with 267 runs in four innings at a remarkable average of 66.75, with the help of two fifties and a century, which came at the recently concluded Adelaide Test and earned him the Player of the Match award.

Carey now needs to score 128 runs in the upcoming Ashes Test to break Gilchrist's record of scoring the most runs by an Australian wicketkeeper in a calendar year in Tests.

Notably, Gilchrist had scored 870 runs in 19 innings in 2001 at an average of 51.17 with the help of three centuries and four fifties and a best score of 152.

Alex Carey's consistent performances with the bat, coupled with his brilliance behind the wickets, played a pivotal role in Australia's unassailable 3-0 lead against England in the blockbuster series.

With the urn already retained, Australia made two changes to their squad for the penultimate fixture, with off-spinner Todd Murphy and Jhye Richardson replacing injured Nathan Lyon and captain Pat Cummins, who was rested "as part of his ongoing management plan".

Australia squad for fourth Ashes Test: Steven Smith (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Brendan Doggett, Cameron Green, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Todd Murphy, Michael Neser, Jhye Richardson, Mitchell Starc, Jake Weatherald and Beau Webster.