We know Alex Carey is “clearly not” a walker. But let’s pretend Australia’s wicketkeeper-batsman does, occasionally, enjoy a walk.

Just for a minute (or the English press will start to get ideas), and just because sometimes a complex DRS drama can be better viewed through a more basic prism: like urban infrastructure.

Let’s say Carey takes a stroll, not from the Adelaide Oval crease to the dressing room, but along a footpath in the city. It’s pretty pleasant and, even though he briefly loses his balance on a crack, recovers adequately to avoid a fall.

Let’s say he goes for another walk in 2027, this time in Birmingham. He’s touring Edgbaston by foot, and it’s been a successful outing until he happens upon an uneven slab in the pavement that trips him up. It might not have got him, but the footpaths are different there. It’s a different type of concrete, and there are different tradies employing a different method of laying it.

Carey knows the footpaths are different again in Barbados; he spent some time there earlier this year skipping over potholes that caught some others off guard.

It’s annoying but also understandable that footpaths fluctuate across countries. But what if there was a global governing body of footpaths? One with broad reach and lots of money, set up to ensure a consistent experience for all the world’s walkers?

Alex Carey in action against England in Adelaide.Credit: AP

Because although Carey didn’t walk on day one of the third Test in Adelaide, even he conceded he........

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