There has never been a Test match at Mackay, the venue for the second and final Test of the Bangladesh-Australia series. Even first-class cricket has been played only sparingly at the ground, with just five matches held there.

On Saturday, the less abrasive Carey will walk onto Great Barrier Reef Arena as the seventh, his skill-set reflecting wicketkeeping fundamentals that Grout would have approved of as well as a run-scoring capacity now expected of modern glovemen.

The two-Test series, starting in tropical Darwin on Thursday before moving to Mackay, will be the first red ball cricket the world's number one side have played since the Sydney Test against England in early January.