Wade to keep but red-hot Inglis has grabbed his chance

Selection chief George Bailey has backed in Matthew Wade as the first-choice wicketkeeper for the T20 World Cup despite the surprise selection of Josh Inglis in the 15-man squad, though questions linger over where Australia's gloveman will bat.

Mediocre returns from Josh Philippe, Alex Carey and Ben McDermott during the T20 series defeats to West Indies and Bangladesh left the door ajar for the in-form Inglis, whose barnstorming domestic form both in Australia and his native United Kingdom proved impossible to overlook.

The uncapped 26-year-old has scored 1117 runs at 37.23 including two centuries, with a strike-rate of 154.28, over the past eight months across the KFC BBL (for the Perth Scorchers), England's T20 Blast (with Leicestershire) and Hundred (London Spirit) competitions.

Bailey suggested he had been particularly impressed with how Inglis managed his transition from opening the batting to a middle-order role with the Scorchers last summer.

Inglis, who returns to Australia from England tonight following the end of the London Spirit's campaign in The Hundred, batted in the top three in the UK. He will complete two weeks of quarantine before joining his state teammates at Western Australia.

Wade, an opener with the Hobart Hurricanes but who has batted extensively at six and seven in international cricket, was shunted up and down Australia's batting order for the T20 campaigns in St Lucia and Dhaka.

His highest score in 10 innings was a 14-ball 33 against the Windies, though he was not alone in struggling during the ensuing campaign against Bangladesh in batting conditions the Australians universally labelled the hardest they had ever played in.

Wade began the Windies tour expecting to bat in the top three but has since said he is prepared to be used anywhere and Bailey suggested the batting order would ultimately be up to captain Aaron Finch.

"We do (see Wade as the No.1 keeper) but it's not really up to me, the batting order," Bailey told reporters via teleconference today.

"We'll talk to that as we get closer (to the World Cup) but I try to leave that to the captain as much as I can. The one thing when I look through that squad that I like is that it looks like a squad that is adaptable and flexible.

"There's a number of guys who have batted at the top and a number of guys who have also rolled through the middle, and if we need to change that at times, we've got the flexibility to do so."

Mitch Marsh's standout efforts at No.3 over the past few weeks have made him a genuine contender to remain in that role, with Bailey suggesting Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis and even Steve Smith could be used in 'finishing' roles.

Finch and David Warner have previously been flagged as locks to open the batting together.

While Bailey pointed out selectors had been delighted with Carey's recent returns in 50-over cricket, having captained the Aussies to a 2-1 ODI series win over the Windies in Barbados last month, the South Australian's returns in the shortest format did not demand inclusion for the World Cup.

Carey now averages just 11.09 in T20I cricket with a strike-rate of 108.37. Him and fellow keeper Philippe were dismissed for single digits in 8 of their 13 innings between them against the Windies and Bangladesh, with neither passing 20.

McDermott , who keeps wicket with Hobart when Wade is absent, struck a patient 35 in Dhaka but managed only 66 in five T20s on tour and has a career average of 13.66 from 15 innings, while his strike rate is just 88.17.

Inglis, who was overlooked for those tours, has been the leading run scorer in England's T20 Blast while he also signed off from the Hundred in style, hitting 72 off 45 balls for the Shane Warne-coached Spirit in their final match.

After scoring three Marsh Sheffield Shield centuries for Western Australia last summer, the Leeds-born right-hander has been tipped as a possible keeper for Australia in Test cricket as well.

"Josh has been on the radar for a while for his performances which, and not just in T20 but across all formats, have been really impressive over the last 12 months," said Bailey.

"We'd spoken to Josh about playing in the Blast and the Hundred and continuing to push his case that way, and he really did. Being the leading run scorer (in the T20 Blast) was fantastic.

"In terms of our (World Cup) squad, we think he brings some great flexibility.

"In terms of guys who have batted at the top and shifted into the middle (order), I thought his transformation into a middle order player for the Scorchers last season was seamless.

"He's a really good player of spin, provides a few different finishing abilities in terms of being able to play all around the ground, but he's really powerful as well.

"He's a really great all-round player. I fully appreciate the 'bolter' look about it but he's someone we've had our eye on for some time."

2021 Men's T20 World Cup key info

Australia's squad

Aaron Finch (c), Ashton Agar, Pat Cummins (vc), Josh Hazlewood, Josh Inglis, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Mitchell Swepson, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa. Travelling reserves: Dan Christian, Nathan Ellis, Daniel Sams

Australia's matches

October 23v South Africa in Abu Dhabi (2pm local time, 9pm AEDT)

October 28v Qualifier A1 in Dubai (6pm local time, 1am Oct 29 AEDT)

October 30v England in Dubai (6pm local time, 1am Oct 31 AEDT)

November 4v Qualifier B2 in Dubai (2pm local time, 9pm AEDT)

November 6v West Indies in Abu Dhabi (2pm local time, 9pm AEDT)

CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL 2021 ICC T20 WORLD CUP SCHEDULE

How teams are grouped

Round 1

Group A: Sri Lanka, Ireland, Netherlands, Namibia

Group B: Bangladesh, Scotland, Papua New Guinea, Oman

Super 12s

Group 1: England, Australia, South Africa, West Indies, A1, B2

Group 2: India, Pakistan, New Zealand, Afghanistan, B1, A2