Bold Maxwell snub that paved the way for gun’s unlikely emergence
The emergence of Josh Inglis as a long-term candidate in Australia’s middle order can be partly attributed to a bold call from selectors at the start of last year.
Aussie fan favourite Glenn Maxwell was making plenty of noise towards the end of the 2024-25 summer, making no secret of his desire to return to the Test team.
Glenn Maxwell plays one of his reverse sweeps. Getty
Maxwell, then 36 years old, had played the last of his seven Test matches in 2017, but was keen to score a ticket to Sri Lanka where he figured he could perform well.
Instead, selectors ignored what may have been the more popular pick, to instead take Inglis and Cooper Connolly to the subcontinent for the two-Test series.
“I desperately wanted to be on that tour, but I can completely understand their reasoning,” Maxwell told media after being overlooked.
The selection paid dividends when Inglis scored a century in his first Test innings. His 102 off 94 deliveries set up a huge Aussie win in the first match in Galle.
On Thursday night he scored his second Test ton, improbably also reaching 102 before being dismissed by South Africa in the third and deciding match in Cape Town.
The 31-year-old became the only Australian player in history to score multiple centuries in all three formats. He is playing just his sixth Test.
The knock – his first since breaking a finger during the white-ball series that preceded this – was so impressive that the general consensus is Inglis must now be picked in the middle order for this summer’s matches against New Zealand. His success overseas will also almost certainly secure his place in India early next year.
He is the answer to the No.5 conundrum that has plagued Australia since Travis Head’s forced move up the order two years ago.
Inglis has suddenly become the player Glenn Maxwell fans hoped Maxwell was going to be, but never was.
Maxwell managed to play just seven Tests over a five-year period, despite a cult following Down Under, with fanatics calling for his selection ad nauseam.
For all his natural flare and stroke-playing ability, the man regrettably dubbed The Big Show could average only 26.07 in the baggy green. That average did, though, balloon when batting at No.5 and No.6 in the order.
Josh Inglis is congratulated by Alex Carey on his century. Getty Images
Inglis boasts a similar type of raw brilliance. His superb strokeplay was on show in Cape Town as he hit the Proteas to all parts of the ground, but particularly square and behind square with a wide array of shots.
He brought up his century with a reverse sweep to the boundary. It was Maxwell-esque.
Whereas fans may have previously thought him to be a white-ball specialist, he’s now proven he can do it against the red ball as well.
“It’s more the mindset, finding my tempo and facing a lot more balls, staying calm throughout an innings,” he explained to SEN following day three in Cape Town.
“I’ve not faced a lot of balls in the games I’ve played (previously), so to be able to get that this game has been nice.”
Inglis could easily have been lost to Australian cricket.
He was born in Leeds and grew up in England before relocating to Australia at 14 years old.
Josh Inglis has replaced the injured Steve Smith for the Cape Town Test. AP
Born-again Test opener Matt Renshaw, too, was born in England and was eligible to represent the country, but luckily stuck with Queensland and Australia.
Having seen their respective Test careers revived in South Africa, the pair can now form the nucleus of Australia’s batting order going forward.
Marnus Labuschagne is facing the axe and Steve Smith’s retirement is looming.
Seemingly out of the blue, a succession plan has arrived. The Aussie line-up is suddenly clearer than it was a week ago.
Likely Test XI for Aussie summer
Travis Head, Matt Renshaw, Steve Smith, Cameron Green, Josh Inglis, Cooper Connolly, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood
