Australian wicketkeeper Josh Inglis ruled out of T20 World Cup after freak injury

Australian wicketkeeper Josh Inglis has been ruled out of the T20 World Cup after suffering a freak injury while playing golf.

Josh Inglis of Australia. Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images

Australian wicketkeeper Josh Inglis has been ruled out of the T20 World Cup after suffering a freak injury while playing golf in Sydney.

The 27-year-old was rushed to hospital on Tuesday after a golf club snapped in his hand, causing a split webbing and a cut to his finger.

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On Wednesday morning, The Daily Telegraph reported that Inglis had been ruled out of the T20 World Cup, opening the door for Australia to call in a replacement.

“An incredibly freak accident to Josh, unfortunately … playing the second hole at New South Wales, a short par three, he hit a six iron and as he made contact with the ground, the shaft snapped around the grip area and cut into his hands,” Australian coach Andrew McDonald told SEN Whateley.

“It’s not looking good for Josh. We’ve got a bit of work to do and a bit of a problem to solve this morning around our backup keeper and also a backup batter.

“He’s potentially not going to take any part in the World Cup. It’s damage to the palm of the hand which is less than ideal, in his right hand where he’d be gripping the bat and if he had to keep the ball would be impacting that area.

“He saw a hand specialist yesterday. Thankfully there’s no tendon damage and it looks as though that’s the positive out of the negative. They’ve been able to stitch it up and clean up the wound and let the healing begin.

“With the time frame and how quickly these games come around, it puts his part in the World Cup in jeopardy, big time.”

Josh Inglis of Australia. Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images

Inglis was Australia’s reserve wicketkeeper for the T20 tournament, serving as Matthew Wade’s understudy, but national selectors could elect for all-rounder Cameron Green or seamer Nathan Ellis to fill the vacancy.

“We’ve got to work out what a squad would look like going into a World Cup without a backup keeper,” McDonald said.

“If Matthew Wade were to get injured on the morning of the game, what would we do there? We’ve got a little bit to work through.

“It allows us an option to change the balance of the squad as we would like, or we’d go with the same type of balance which would be a keeper-batsman coming in for Josh.

“Cam Green, he’s definitely a discussion point. Anyone who can bat anywhere in the order, can give you a few handy overs and can give you a different look if something were to go wrong with your top seven batters …[he is] definitely in the discussion.

“Nathan Ellis as well, and then you’ve got the list of wicketkeeper-batsmen playing domestic cricket at the moment which would include Ben McDermott, Josh Philippe and Alex Carey, the ODI keeper.

“There’s a few people to discuss, but we’ve just go to get our heads around what the scenario would look like without a backup keeper.

“If we feel there’s too much risk in that, then clearly we’ll head down that line of choosing one of those wicketkeepers.”

Inglis becomes the second cricketer to miss the T20 World Cup due to a golfing accident, with England wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow slipping while walking on a golf course last month.

Australia will face New Zealand at the SCG on Saturday evening for its opening match of the T20 World Cup, with the first ball scheduled for 6pm AEDT.