Josh Inglis's Return: Australia's Test Hopes Get a Boost

Dr. Annelies De Vos · 2026-10-11

Josh Inglis is on his way back to the Australia squad in Gqeberha. He's been recovering from a fractured finger, and there's a chance he could still play a part in the Test series against South Africa. The wicketkeeper-batter has been out since late last month, when he got injured during the ODI leg of the tour. ### Inglis Injury Update and Recovery Progress Inglis broke his finger in the first ODI in Durban and flew back to Australia to have the injury assessed and begin his recovery. He avoided surgery, which kept alive the possibility of a return to the tour. A recent scan showed encouraging progress, and that clears the way for him to link up with the squad again. Australia have not confirmed whether he will be fit for selection in the second Test. His rejoining the group, though, means the team management can monitor his condition closely over the coming days. ### How Australia Covered for Inglis in Durban Inglis was missing from the Test squad for the opening match, and Australia had to fill two spots as a result. He offers both wicketkeeping and batting cover, even though he has played all five of his Tests as a specialist batter. Sam Harper came in from the Australia A tour of India to take the back-up gloves role. Nic Maddinson also received a surprise recall. Head coach Andrew McDonald explained how the selectors viewed the situation. "It really turned into two players replacing Josh Inglis," he said. McDonald added that the flexibility Inglis provides led to Harper being picked as the reserve keeper, which in turn led to the call for Maddinson. ### Australia's Batting Order and Cameron Green Concern The injuries forced Australia to rework their batting order for the first Test. Maddinson opened the innings in his first first-class match since March 2025. He fell for a duck off 33 balls on the opening day, the longest by an Australian opener in Tests. Matt Renshaw moved down to No. 5 and made a bigger impact. He steadied the innings after Australia slipped to 84 for 4 and later 124 for 6. Cameron Green has added to the selection questions. He sustained an abdominal injury in the final ODI in Potchefstroom and missed the Durban Test. Uncertainty remains over his availability for the second match, and McDonald said Green is unlikely to bowl as an allrounder at any stage of the series. ### What Inglis' Return Means for the Series Australia now have more options as the series moves to Gqeberha. Inglis could return to the middle order, while Harper stays on as the second wicketkeeping option. The final combination will depend on how Inglis responds in training and on the fitness reports for Green. South Africa lead the series after the first Test in Durban, and Australia need to settle their batting line-up quickly to stay in contention. The team management will announce its playing XI closer to the start of the second Test. > "It really turned into two players replacing Josh Inglis." - Andrew McDonald For more cricket news and updates, follow JeetWin Blog!