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Australian wicketkeeper/batter Alex Carey feels England's mid-Ashes break in Noosa will do them some good, but warns Australia against getting too comfortable with their 2-0 lead. Carey believes memories of the 2023 series, where Australia blew a 2-0 lead in England, will keep his team focused.
England arrived in Noosa, the affluent resort town on the Queensland coast, on Tuesday for a four-night mini-break, and will train three times in Adelaide ahead of the third Ashes Test, as per ESPNcricinfo. "I think it'd be a nice holiday. It's a pretty big series, with lots of time between games. For the Australian cricket team, we get to go home for a few days and be with families, so touring parties have got to find time to fill in those little windows," Carey said as per ESPNcricinfo. "We know England are a very good team. We also understand we were in a position like this a couple of years ago in England. We weren't able to win that series, but we were good enough to retain the Ashes. We're really excited for the opportunity we've got, but we understand we've got to keep playing good cricket," Carey added. Carey believes it's up to England to decide how to handle the mid-tour break, but feels taking time off can help them refresh and recharge. He noted the Ashes is "very hotly contested" and players shouldn't be thinking about cricket every day. "I'm not sure you need to do it [but] it's totally up to the touring groups to find ways to take your mind off cricket for a little bit. The Ashes is very hotly contested. You don't want to be thinking of cricket every single day of the tour. If you do have a little break, it's probably not a bad time to refresh the batteries," Carey concluded. England's attacking 'Bazball' approach as a batting unit did not pay them any dividends in the first two Ashes Tests. England faced a helpless, two-day loss at Perth, courtesy of a Travis Head form in the first Test. In the second Test, except for centurion Joe Root, Zak Crawley and skipper Ben Stokes managed to bat out for really long. After giving Australia a 177-run first-innings lead with 511, there was no coming back for England, as, except for a 96-run stand between Stokes and Will Jacks, they fell apart for 241 in the third innings, setting Australia an easy 69-run target to win. Australia, ahead of the third Test, is boosted as skipper Pat Cummins is poised to make his comeback in Adelaide. Cummins is set to make his international comeback in the third Ashes Test against, having overcome his back injury issues. The 32-year-old hasn't played at the international level since the third Test against the West Indies in July. The hosts currently lead the five-match series 2-0, with the third Test between England and Australia set to be played in Adelaide, starting December 17. (ANI)
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