Josh Inglis Spices up the T20 World Cup Race

Australia has a three-way race for one spot in the T20 World Cup. Up until last year, Matthew Wade was the one for the spot. Matthew Wade though has made a remarkable return. From thinking the last World Cup would be his last time representing Australia to leading them a year later in India, he has kept himself relevant.

Alex Carey is another one who is in and around the discussion. He has been in good touch over the last few years in the Big Bash League and is a regular in Tests. In white-ball cricket, he was a regular until Josh Inglis took his spot after a game in the World Cup.

Josh Inglis though looks like a frontrunner. In the first T20, bowlers were left scratching their heads while bowling to him. He looked very clean and fluent with his stroke play. With inventive stroke play, he kept the bowlers thinking and confused. In the first T20, after opening his account with a textbook cover drive, Inglis was quick to pick his bowlers and attacked his way through to a strong century.

His numbers in the BBL too have been pretty solid in the last few years. Unlike Carey, his numbers came in the middle-order, which adds to his fortunes considering Australia is likely to use their wicket-keepers lower in the order, primarily as finishers.

From Inglis though it was complete domination against India. The bowlers had no answers for him and he made it a point to convert his start, something he struggled to do two years ago.

Back in 2021, he missed a spot in the Test side when Alex Carey took Tim Paine’s spot. A year later, he was meant to be in the side for the T20 World Cup until a freak injury ruled him out. In the 2023 World Cup though an upward curve seems to have gotten underway.

He succeeded straightaway against Sri Lanka. In the remaining games though, Jos Inglis was around but did not have too much of a noticeable impact. An under-rated moment though remains his contribution in the Semi-Finals as he guided them close to the target.

In the T20 side, Josh Inglis has replaced Matthew Wade, barring this series with Wade as captain. Wade though still remains in and around as does Carey. Inglis though, with a solid performance to start with is showing that he is the one for the job.