Unusual incident turned relaxing day on the fairways into minor medical emergency after back-up keeper’s golf club snapped clean in his hand
Inglis suffers bizarre injury on golf course
Wicketkeeper Josh Inglis has suffered a bizarre mishap on the golf course that left him hospitalised three days out from Australia’s T20 World Cup opener.
Inglis was left with a severely cut hand after the handle of the club he was swinging snapped upon impact while he was playing golf at New South Wales Golf Club, on Botany Bay's northern headland near Sydney airport, on Wednesday morning.
The unusual incident turned what was supposed to be a relaxing day off from training with teammates into a minor medical emergency, with Inglis taken to hospital with a bloodied right hand.
It appeared likely he would at least require stitches, with Cricket Australia issuing a statement on Wednesday afternoon saying he was being assessed by team medicos.
Inglis did not appear likely to feature in Australia's first match against New Zealand at the SCG anyway unless there was an injury to first-choice gloveman Matthew Wade.
Depending on the severity of the injury, Australia could replace Inglis in their 15-man squad, though Inglis' dynamic hitting and versatility (he could play as a specialist batter or as a keeper) makes him a strong back-up option.
Golf is a popular pastime among Australia's leading cricketers and has even been credited as a factor in the national men's team's maiden T20 title last year in the UAE, where players had few leisure options given they were in a COVID-19 bubble.
"That's the one good thing that's come out of COVID, that a lot of guys started taking up golf, myself included," Wade told cricket.com.au's Unplayable Podcast earlier this week.
"In Dubai it was just a good bonding time to go out with your teammates and get away from cricket - and just talk really.
"We're competitive obviously, we give each other a heap of grief. We have a few WhatsApp groups.
"When you're away together and in the grind, it's kind of hotel, on the bus, go to training, come back, have some food and do it all again the next day.
"So golf has been it's been a great introduction to our team environment."Men's T20 World Cup 2022
Australia squad: Ashton Agar, Pat Cummins, Tim David, Aaron Finch (c), Josh Hazlewood, Josh Inglis, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa
Australia's T20 World Cup 2022 fixtures
Oct 22: v New Zealand, SCG, 6pm AEDT
Oct 25: v 1A, Optus Stadium, 10pm AEDT
Oct 28: v England, MCG, 7pm AEDT
Oct 31: v 2B, Gabba, 7pm AEDT
Nov 4: v Afghanistan, Adelaide Oval, 7pm AEDT
Click here for a full 2022 T20 World Cup fixture