"Do you want to play a game of cricket tomorrow?" - Josh Inglis reveals conversations with selectors before South Africa clash in the 2023 World Cup
Australian keeper-batter Josh Inglis has revealed the conversation with the selectors before being picked for the 2023 World Cup fixture against South Africa. The right-handed batter stated that he simply said yes when asked by George Bailey if he would be interested in playing, but didn't see it coming.
Inglis, who scored a vital half-century in Australia's five-wicket win over Sri Lanka on Monday, had a forgettable game against South Africa. Coming in for Alex Carey, a nip-backer from Kagiso Rabada got him for a duck.
Speaking to cricket.com.au ahead of leaving for Bengaluru, Inglis said he is over the moon to be getting an opportunity at this stage and doesn't want to take anything for granted.
"I think I was at brekky and Bails said, ‘Do you want to play a game of cricket tomorrow?’ and I was like, 'Yeah, I do'. I didn't really see it coming. So that was nice. I'm just really, really pumped to be getting a game at the minute. I can't take that for granted. Professional cricket is tough and international cricket is even harder. So that doesn't mean I've cracked it now. Still got to put performances on the board because Kez (Carey) is a very good player."
The England-born cricketer put on 77 with Marnus Labuschagne against Sri Lanka as Australia were left with a tricky chase of 210. He was eventually dismissed by Dunith Wellalage.
"I was pretty rusty" - Josh Inglis reflects on the South Africa tour
The 28-year-old went on to acknowledge the lack of game time despite being a traveling member of the squad on numerous occasions. He added:
"It's always tough when you're when you're traveling with a squad and you don't get that game time. You can train as well as you like, but without playing any games, you've got nothing to really fall back on. (In) South Africa, I was pretty rusty, I had one or two decent games but I hadn't played any cricket for four or five months. So that was nice to get some cricket there and hopefully lead into doing well."
Australia will next face Pakistan on October 20th in Bengaluru.