Photo: Collected
Australia wicketkeeper-batter Josh Inglis has been ruled out of the last two matches of the ODI series against South Africa. Having injured the index finger of his right hand, his participation in the three-match Test series against South Africa next month has also become uncertain.
Inglis was injured while Australia were fielding in the first ODI of the series in Durban. Later, he made 3 runs with the bat before getting out trying to play a reverse sweep off Bjorn Fortuin. Earlier, the Australian had scored the second ODI century of his career in Harare in the last ODI of the series against Zimbabwe.
Cricket Australia said Inglis will return home to have scans on the injury. A decision on his playing in the three-match Test series will be taken after further assessment and seeing the progress of his recovery.
In Inglis’s absence, Alex Carey is returning to wicketkeeping duties in the last two ODIs against South Africa. In recent times, when Carey and Inglis have played together, it is Inglis who has stood behind the stumps, while Carey has fielded. This time Carey will have to take the gloves again in ODIs.
Inglis is in the Test squad as well. There he has been kept as an extra batter and reserve wicketkeeper. He has played five Tests so far, each of them as a specialist batter. He has batted in various positions from number four to seven.
Inglis had scored a century on his Test debut against Sri Lanka at the start of 2025. However, he has not been able to score more than 32 in the six innings since.
If Inglis cannot recover and return to the tour before the first Test in Durban next month, Australia will have to think about flying in a replacement wicketkeeper. This is because there will be no other specialist wicketkeeper in the squad if Carey gets injured. However, there is not enough time to bring anyone new to South Africa before the second ODI.
Carey has not missed a Test since his debut in the 2021-22 Ashes. He played his 50th Test against Bangladesh in Mackay last month. However, when Carey suffered a concussion in Jamaica last year, Inglis had taken over the wicketkeeping duties from him.
As possible replacements for Inglis, the names of Josh Philippe and Sam Harper, who are currently on a tour of India with the Australia ‘A’ team, may come into consideration. The Australia ‘A’ team recently finished a four-day match against India, in which Philippe scored 14 and 7 in the two innings. He has been around Australia’s white-ball teams for the past year.
Sam Harper, on the other hand, has come into discussion after a fine performance for Victoria in the 2025-26 season. His performance as an opener in the Sheffield Shield was also notable.
However, if Australia’s selectors want to take the risk of touring without a specialist reserve wicketkeeper, Nathan McSweeney or the experienced Peter Handscomb may also come into consideration. Handscomb, who can also keep wicket, was the highest run-scorer in the Sheffield Shield last season.
Meanwhile, no batter reached fifty in the Australia ‘A’ team’s four-day match. Pacer Fergus O’Neill played the team’s highest individual innings with 47 runs, while Jason Sangha made 46.
The domestic first-class season has not yet begun in Australia. The first-round matches of the Sheffield Shield will be held at the same time as Australia’s first Test against South Africa.
There is also little chance of Jake Weatherald, who was dropped after the first Test against Bangladesh in Darwin, being brought back into the squad so quickly, although he had scored 92 in the One-Day Cup last week.
Apart from Carey and Inglis, Australia last took Jimmy Peirson as an extra wicketkeeper in the Test squad in the 2023 Ashes. At that time Peirson was added to the squad when Inglis returned home for the birth of his first child.
