Josh Inglis ready to bat anywhere for Australia as line-up for first Test against West Indies remains unclear

Josh Inglis will replace Steve Smith in Australia’s Test line-up in the West Indies, but just where he bats remains unclear and he’s OK with that.

Josh Inglis still doesn’t know exactly where he’ll bat in his return to the Test team when Australia takes on the West Indies on Wednesday, but all his white-ball experience has him confident he can bat anywhere.

Inglis was one of two inclusions for a new-look Australian top order in the Caribbean, replacing the injured Steve Smith, while Sam Konstas is set to take over from Marnus Labuschagne as Usman Khawaja’s opening partner.

In Sri Lanka in January, Inglis scored a century in his Test debut at Galle, coming in behind Smith at No.5 and joining a rare club to have made international hundreds at Test, ODI and T20 level.

He batted at No.6 in his second Test and has filled every spot in the top seven in his 61 international matches across all formats.

Questioned about his spot in the new-look line-up, Inglis said “yeah” when it was put to him No.3, 4 or 5 were the likely options.

Josh Inglis scored a hundred on Test debut in Galle. Picture: Robert Cianflone/Getty Images

That could mean a shift for Cameron Green, who batted at three without success in the World Test Championship final, or Travis Head, who has become a mainstay at No.5.

But having opened in white-ball games for Australia, and batted at various spots in the Sheffield Shield for Western Australia, Inglis is confident he can succeed wherever he’s put.

“Because I’ve done it, I sort of feel comfortable going into different positions,” Inglis said.

“I’ve obviously batted at the top in white-ball cricket and in the middle, so sort of become accustomed to moving around a fair bit and something I sort of pride myself on.

“I took a lot of confidence from (his debut hundred) ... but it’s only one game, so I’ve got to start again from here.”

Inglis made a duck in the second Test in Sri Lanka, halving his average, and with Smith potentially coming back for the second Test in the West Indies, runs in Barbados could be crucial to keep his spot.

“But I’m not really thinking too much about that,” he said.

Inglis is back in the Test line-up. Picture: William West / AFP

“I think if you’re thinking about that, you’re probably going to come unstuck.

“So I’m just going to try and stick to my processes, and my focus is just fully on this game and playing the situation of the game.”

Inglis said he expected the Bridgetown wicket to spin, which could curtail his desire to take the bowlers on, a batting style that has become his trademark.

“I’m obviously looking to score at all times, but I guess we’ll see, obviously just going to weigh up the conditions and the bowling and that sort of thing,” he said.

“Conditions wise, I’m not really sure what we’re going to get.

“I think a lot of the cricket here has been quite slow traditional cricket and the ball might spin towards the back end of the game, but I guess we just got to see and adapt.”

Originally published as Josh Inglis ready to bat anywhere for Australia as line-up for first Test against West Indies remains unclear