How Justin Langer convinced Josh Inglis to turn his back on England and commit his future to Australia

Australia may have unearthed their next Ashes superstar - and they have former coach Justin Langer to thank for it. Here’s the inside story on how Josh Inglis turned his back on England.

Justin Langer sat down with a teenage Josh Inglis and gave it to him straight: When you’ve got a foot in both camps, you must take a big leap into one.

Inglis, 17 at the time and still sporting a broad Yorkshire accent, gave Langer his commitment to the green gold right there and then and now 12 years on – in the early hours of Sunday morning – that decision clinched Australia the biggest run-chase in ICC tournament history to sink England, the country of his birth.

Langer, who at the time was Inglis’ coach at Western Australia, had seen too many young talents with dual passports hedge their bets and get nowhere, and wanted the young star to zero in on one side of the Ashes divide.

“Rather than tread water and hope this goes, and if it doesn’t, there’s a back-up, just commit to one. So then you can give your full attention,” Langer recalled of Inglis, whose masterful 120 not out to mow down England’s 351 will go down as one of the finest chasing innings in Australian ODI history.

TOPSHOT - Australia's Josh Inglis plays a shot during the ICC Champions Trophy one-day international (ODI) cricket match between Australia and England at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on February 22, 2025. (Photo by Aamir QURESHI / AFP)

“I’ve seen too many players who know they’ve got a bit of a safety blanket and therefore they don’t absolutely commit to it and then what ultimately happens, or what I’ve seen with a few players is they don’t actually get anywhere with either.

“With Josh it was clear that the family had set up in Australia and it became clear: (it was) Australia.”

Wicketkeeper-batsman Inglis, has now taken fewer innings (56) than Glenn Maxwell (107), Shane Watson (328) and David Warner (332) to post centuries in all three formats for Australia and the one who got away is coming to get England in this summer’s Ashes.

Inglis told The Grade Cricketer Podcast before scoring his century on Test debut in Sri Lanka a month ago that he felt the fact he hadn’t grown up his entire childhood dreaming of one day pulling on the baggy green had actually helped it not become a mental burden for him once he reached the professional level.

However, once Langer put it on him to make a decision, Inglis went all in on an ambition to play for Australia.

Langer was Inglis’ coach at the Western Australia Warriors when he gave the ultimatum. Picture: Getty

Inglis’ 86 ball, unbeaten 120, featuring eight fours and six sixes was an absolute masterclass, with the right-hander’s pull shot as great a weapon as his temperament.

Teammates might still rib Inglis about which anthem he’s going to sing when Australia plays England, but no one is in any doubt about where the 29-year-old stands.

“The funny thing for Josh of course was he had a massive Pommy accent, didn’t he. A lot of guys have lived here and their parents have been English, but for him it was a classic, I still laugh about it now, because I thought, ‘oh my God, we’ve got a fully blown Pommy in our West Australian camp, for no other reason than he had quite a broad accent,” Langer said.

“But it was (Australia) a pretty easy sell I think. What I admire about his family is that everyone says, ‘oh yeah, yeah, we’re going to commit.’

Josh Inglis quickly made a name for himself with Western Australia. Picture: Getty

“It’s easy to say, ‘were going to commit until it doesn’t work out,’ if that makes sense, but in Josh’s case, it was really clear he was 100 per cent. It became very apparent that he actually was going to commit.

“They made the decision and it’s paid dividends. He has always worked bloody hard and he’s a really loyal bloke.

“I remember Swampy, Geoff Marsh was the one who told me. He said, ‘watch this kid.’ He had very, very fast hands and also you could tell he had a hunger for it.

“It’s no surprise to me why he’s so popular and why he’s doing so well.

“I honestly can’t tell you how happy I am to see him do so well.”

Australia were written off as Champions Trophy contenders, but delivered an opening game victory. Picture: Getty

Most wrote Australia off heading into the Champions Trophy after six of their biggest stars pulled out and the team was spanked 2-0 by Sri Lanka on the eve of the tournament.

But just as Australia did with incredible effect at the 2023 World Cup they won in India, they have timed their run beautifully and won when it mattered on the big stage against England.

In what is a short and cut-throat tournament, Australia are now in the box seat to qualify for the semi-finals in Pakistan, provided they can get past South Africa on Tuesday night.

Alex Carey was also brilliant with the bat and also with his fielding, while Marnus Labuschagne’s 47 should serve as a major confidence-builder in a match where Australia climbed Everest without Steve Smith or Travis Head troubling the scorers.

Originally published as How Justin Langer convinced Josh Inglis to turn his back on England and commit his future to Australia