A brutal knock to his neck from a bouncer did not stop Australian wicketkeeper Alex Carey from starring with bat in hand during South Australia’s Marsh Cup win on Tuesday.

A nasty short ball from NSW’s Liam Hatcher caught Carey by surprise, leaving him in discomfort and with a large red mark as evidence.

Despite the setback early in his innings, Carey went on to top score for the match with 75 off 63 deliveries, guiding the Redbacks to a six wicket win over the Blues.

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It was yet another outstanding outing for Carey as he prepares for the first Test against India in Perth next week.

Across his last 10 matches in all formats, the 33-year-old has scored a whopping 733 runs in 12 innings, with an unbeaten 123 his highlight.

He is averaging 73.3, headlined by two centuries and four half-centuries.

It’s the perfect preparation to enter the Border-Gavaskar series.

And it could be Carey’s aggression with bat in hand that ignites Australia against a difficult India outfit, according to former Australian cricketer Aaron Finch.

“I think the key could be Alex Carey,” Finch told The Willow Talk podcast.

Finch believes Carey will go head-to-head with India keeper Rishabh Pant this summer.

“The two wicketkeepers are going to be so important. For me, it is that really crucial role of Alex at number seven and Rishabh at number six likely,” he said.

“Carey is aggressive, Rishabh is aggressive. The game is going to go one or two ways really quick. And I think that will be so important.”

Australia first Test squad:

Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitch Marsh, Nathan McSweeney, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc.