West Indies vs Australia: Aaron Finch out of 1st ODI, Alex Carey to lead Aussies

Alex Carey will lead Australia in the first One-Day International (ODI) against West Indies on Tuesday after captain Aaron Finch was ruled out due to injury.

Finch, who has been suffering a knee niggle during the ongoing Caribbean tour, reaggravated the issue on his right knee during last the fifth Twenty20 International (T20I) last week in St Lucia, according to cricket.com.au.

As the three-match ODI series between Australia and West Indies is set to begin on Tuesday (July 20) at the Daren Sammy National Cricket Stadium, Gros Islet, it is still uncertain if Finch will feature in the series or not as his availability is being monitored on "day to day basis."

Carey, who is set to become Australia's 26th ODI captain, said he is "deeply honoured" to have received the responsibility in Finch's absence.

"I am deeply honoured to be able to lead the team while Aaron recovers. 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," Carey said in an interview ahead of the first ODI in Gros Islet.

Carey, who has previously captained Australia A, the Adelaide Strikers and South Australia, will lead an inexperienced Australia team in the 50-over game on Tuesday, with Josh Philippe, Ben McDermott and Riley Meredith all in the mix to make their ODI debuts.

Carey, who is tipped to lead Australia at some point in the future, first led a side in football. A skillful junior Australian Rules footballer, he was the first official skipper of the Australian Football League's newest team, the Greater Western Sydney Giants, albeit when they were still only part of Victoria's Under-18 competition.

The Australia cricket team recently suffered a crushing 4-1 loss in the five-match T20I series against West Indies. All-rounder Mitchell Marsh was their stand-out performer, finishing the series as the leading run-scorer with 219 runs in five innings at an average of 43.80 apart from claiming eight wickets as well. While he was Australia's best bowler, he finished second in the list after Windies' Hayden Walsh (12 wickets).

Carey has been a regular in Australia's ODI team since making his debut in 2018. He is the frontrunner to take over the gloves from Test skipper Tim Paine when he retires.

The 2019 World Cup remains Carey's best outing till date, where he scored 375 runs in nine innings at an average of 62.50. One of the most memorable moments in the tournament was Carey batting on with a heavily bandaged jaw after being struck in the helmet by Jofra Archer in the semi-final against England.

A year later, Carey struck his maiden international century against England in a series-winning 212-run sixth-wicket stand with Glenn Maxwell.