Inglis eager to resume stop-start career after latest 'weird' setback

Josh Inglis hopes to shed his tag as the Test team's perennial bridesmaid and replicate Matthew Renshaw's successful middle-order return if he gets the nod for the Cape Town series decider.

Inglis is in the mix to face the South Africa if selectors opt for a top-order reshuffle despite still recovering from the broken finger he suffered in last month's ODIs. 

The 31-year-old is Australia's first-choice limited-overs wicketkeeper and one of world cricket's emerging white-ball batting dynamos, but an extended run in the Baggy Green has eluded him. Although he has been in every Test squad since the start of the 2024-25 Border Gavaskar Trophy, he has only played five out of 20 Tests in that span.

Having badly cut his hand playing golf on the eve of the 2022 T20 World Cup, Inglis suffered a calf strain while substitute fielding during Australia's memorable '24-25 Boxing Day Test win over India.

He missed white-ball games due to another calf injury and then illness last year, before fracturing his right index finger while wicketkeeping to Mitchell Starc in the first ODI against South Africa in Durban.

"It sort of has felt like that - not major injuries - (but) just seemed to pick up some weird ones along the road and missed a bit of cricket," Inglis told cricket.com.au's Unplayable Podcast.

Returning home after suffering the fracture, Inglis had a 10-day pit stop in Perth where he rehabilitated under the watchful eye of Cricket Australia's chief physio Nick Jones. He also consulted a finger specialist. "When it broke, it didn't displace anything, so that was the main thing," he said.

"I've had a few dislocations, but this is the first proper break I've had, so I count myself lucky that I've got to now without having broken one, and it's not too bad either.

"It was pretty innocuous. I caught the ball, it just didn't go in right, and I felt it. I was like, 'Oh, that's that's pretty sore' … there was some pretty significant bruising around that end knuckle."

Inglis scored a dominant hundred in his maiden Test innings against Sri Lanka in Galle last year – like Matthew Renshaw's 190 in Durban, his runs also came at No.5 – but after a second-ball duck in the second match of that series, the Western Australian's appearances in the Baggy Green have been fleeting.

He played once in the Caribbean last year, making 5 and 12 at No.4 filling in for the injured Steve Smith, before posting 23, 32 and 10 in two Ashes Tests last summer batting at No.7.

"I've learnt Test cricket is bloody hard, especially as a batter," he said. "It seems like a lot of the wickets are sort of against you nowadays. I think we've had some pretty decent wickets here for the first two games.

"I've played a lot more white-ball cricket so I find it more difficult playing red-ball cricket now because when I do, it's sporadic and you don't have the rhythm of red ball cricket.

"You just need to be really well planned, really well prepared, and just have a game plan that you're going to stick to and do it over and over and over again. I think we saw that with what 'Renners' (Matthew Renshaw) did in the first Test.

"You could see his method, and it was working, and he stuck to it – and just batted for long periods. So hopefully, if I'm given him the nod, I'll look to do the same."

Inglis acknowledges his adaptability has been a big part of his value as a reserve, also usefully serving as Carey's wicketkeeping understudy, although his finger is still enough of an issue that Sam Harper is still filling that role in South Africa.

The right-hander has mainly batted at six and seven in first-class cricket, while he has settled into the No.4 spot in the ODI side in which he hopes to nail down for next year's World Cup in southern Africa.

He been trialled as high as the opening spot in red-ball cricket, hitting a ton against England Lions last summer against the new ball.

"As someone who's sort of batted everywhere, I guess that's probably why I'm involved in as many squads as I am," he said.

"For me personally, ideally, I'd like to be in one spot and just get used to playing that role. Just from my past experiences of moving around a lot, it's quite hard at times - in different formats as well.

"But I think what this team is good at now is being flexible. I think everyone's open to it, and I think we'll see it a bit more."

Qantas tour of South Africa 2026

All matches to be broadcast exclusively in Australia on Kayo and Fox Cricket

First Test: Australia won by 214 runs

Second Test: South Africa won by an innings and 31 runs

Third Test: October 27-31, Newlands, Cape Town, 7:30pm AEDT (10:30am local)

South Africa Test squad: Temba Bavuma (c), Marques Ackerman, David Bedingham, Corbin Bosch, Gerald Coetzee, Simon Harmer, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, Wiaan Mulder, Senuran Muthusamy, Dane Paterson, Kagiso Rabada, Ryan Rickelton, Tristan Stubbs, Kyle Verreynne

Australia Test squad: Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cooper Connolly, Cameron Green, Sam Harper, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis (second Test onwards), Matthew Kuhnemann, Marnus Labuschagne, Nic Maddinson, Nathan Lyon, Michael Neser, Matthew Renshaw, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Beau Webster