‘Deleted Instagram for a week’ – Alex Carey reveals how he tackled backlash following controversial Jonny Bairstow run-out

Alex Carey. (Photo by Nigel French/PA Images via Getty Images)

Australia wicket-keeper Alex Carey revealed how he and his family faced severe backlash from online trolls following the controversial Jonny Bairstow run-out during the Ashes series. Considering the online abuse from the English fans, an investigation was made by Cricket Australia’s cyber police to assess the situation.

For the unversed, during day 5 of the second Test, Bairstow wandered out of the crease after ducking Cameron Green’s bouncer, following which Carey made a direct hit onto the stumps to dismiss him. This garnered massive attention from the fans which led to trolls lashing out at the Aussie keeper-batter after the incident.

Carey lift the lid on the peculiar incident and how he and his family faced the heat from the English fans online. He revealed that he deleted his social media accounts for a brief period so as to focus on the well-being of his family.

“I didn’t really look into it much; I didn’t have to. I had a lot of people looking at it and monitoring it. You don’t really need to see them. A lot of comments got deleted. It did get pretty nasty from reports. Initially again, if your wife jumps online and you see (you) getting abused or even them getting abused for being your wife and kids, you probably don’t take it too well,” Carey was quoted as saying by the West Australian.

“But 24 hours or 48 hours after that, things simmer down and you understand you’ve done nothing wrong and nothing changes. I actually deleted Instagram for a week or so and just put the phone down and focused on being present with the family,” he added.

Notably, Carey relished a solid campaign in the Ashes 2023 behind the stumps and also scored 200 runs in five outings with the bat. Meanwhile, Australia retained the Ashes as the two arch-rivals were on level terms in the fifth and final Test, taking the scoreline to 2-2.