Australian cricket legend Shane Warne has tipped Josh Inglis to succeed Tim Paine behind the stumps at Test level.
The Western Australian keeper-batsman has been on fire playing for Leicestershire in the T20 Blast in England, scoring a competition-high 531 runs at a strike rate of 175.82.
The 26-year-old’s dazzling performances in the T20 Blast resulted in a call up to replace Glenn Maxwell in the Warne-led London Spirit squad for the inaugural edition of The Hundred.
“Unfortunately, Glenn Maxwell pulled out, so we replaced him with Josh Inglis … wow,” Warne told SEN’s Whateley.
“He just finished the T20 Blast in county cricket, which is the equivalent to our Big Bash, he was the only player to get two hundreds and he got another 90 and an 80.
“He’s in great form. Very good behind the stumps. He’s going to play for Australia. I think he’ll be the keeper-batsman after Tim Paine.
“Watching him closely and getting to talk to him, I wouldn’t be surprised if he was the next wicketkeeper after Tim Paine for Australia in the Test match arena.”
Inglis has also caught the eye in the Big Bash for the Perth Scorchers with his innovative stroke play and neat glovework making him one of the competition’s most exciting players.
Warne, Australia’s all-time leading Test wicket-taker, gave Inglis a glowing endorsement.
“Very clean behind the stumps. Very soft hands. Good mover behind the stumps,” the said.
“With the bat, he’s one of the new modern 360 players – he’s got every single shot.
“He’s got the ramp, the reverse ramps, he’s got the traditional shots as well.
“A very impressive young man. Very switched on and hungry for knowledge. Understands the game and his match awareness as well as his skill.
“So far, he hasn’t put a foot wrong. He’s very, very impressive.”
Inglis is yet to represent Australia in any format with Alex Carey, Matthew Wade and Josh Philippe all selected for the white-ball tour of the West Indies.
He’s scored 2205 first-class runs at an average of 34.45, including three centuries.
