Cricket World Cup news: Josh Inglis finally edges ahead of Alex Carey

Often the understudy, rarely the star, Josh Inglis reveals the moment he was told he was set to step out of Alex Carey’s shadow on cricket’s biggest stage.

As a perennial tourist with the Australian side over the past two years, Josh Inglis has had plenty of hotel buffet breakfasts.

Few were as memorable as the one in Lucknow last Wednesday when selection chair George Bailey sidled up to the wicketkeeper to let him know he had been chosen to face South Africa the following day.

“I think I was at breaky and Bails said ‘do you want to play a game of cricket tomorrow?’ And I was like ‘yeah, I do’,” Inglis said.

“I didn’t really see it coming, so that was nice. And I’m just really, really pumped to be getting a game at the minute.”

It had been a long time coming for Inglis, who had been a member of two previous Twenty20 World Cup squads without playing a game, and a tourist in England this year when he was shadow ’keeper Alex Carey for the World Test Championship final and Ashes.

Josh Inglis watches the ball after playing a shot during the 2023 ICC Men's Cricket World Cup one-day international (ODI) match against Sri Lanka. Picture: AFP

He had also been on Test tours to Pakistan and Sri Lanka last year but is still waiting for his first baggy green cap.

To finally edge ahead of Carey was understandably gratifying and after a dirty day against the Proteas, Inglis made his mark against Sri Lanka with 58 from 59 balls in the Aussies’ breakthrough five-wicket win.

It was satisfying but Inglis knows he can’t rest on his laurels.

“I can’t take that for granted,’’ he said. “I know professional cricket is tough and international cricket is even harder. So that doesn’t mean I’ve cracked it now.

“I still have to put performances on the board because Kez is a very good player.”

Alex Carey was dropped to make way for Inglis. Picture: Getty Images

Dropped after a poor run with the bat, Carey wished Inglis good luck before last week’s game.

Such is the nature of a specialist position that a player’s closest training partner is also his fiercest professional rival.

“Wicketkeepers, like spinners, we have our own group and we look after each other,” Inglis said. “We train together, that sort of thing. So there’s only one wicketkeeper in every team and you just have to do the job as best you can.”

Reflecting on being the understudy for months on end, Inglis said not playing was a challenge.

“It’s always tough when you are travelling with a squad and don’t get that game time,’’ Inglis said. “So you can train as well as you like but without playing any games you have nothing to really fall back on.

“I feel like I’ve been preparing really well and hitting the ball nicely in the nets. So you always want to be as optimistic as you can but I guess the longer you go on without making a score, it can make it worse and spiral so I just stick to my preparation.

“Then just back it in in the game.”

Originally published as Cricket World Cup news: Josh Inglis finally edges ahead of Alex Carey