England-born wicketkeeper eyeing Australia call-up as Paine’s Ashes replacement

Tim Paine has taken an indefinite break from cricket and England-born wicketkeeper Josh Inglis is one of the leading contenders to replace him for the Ashes

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Paine steps down as Australia Test captain over sexting scandal

Following Tim Paine ‘s decision to take an indefinite break from cricket in the wake of the sexting scandal which caused him to resign as captain, Australia are looking for a replacement behind the stumps for the upcoming Ashes series.

There are a number of potential candidates being considered for the role, including Matthew Wade, Alex Carey and Josh Inglis.

Wade is a veteran of 36 Tests and has most recently been played as a specialist batter, while Carey has made a total of 83 appearances for Australia in white ball cricket.

Inglis, however, is yet to make an international appearance for Australia but was part of the squad which won the T20 World Cup.

The 26-year-old was born in Leeds and lived in the UK until the age of 14 when his family moved to Australia.

Speaking to reporters, Inglis said the prospect of featuring in the Ashes is “incredibly exciting” when asked what his family’s reaction would be to a potential call-up.

“They’d obviously be really proud and happy for me if it were to happen,” he said. “It’s incredibly exciting.

“There might be a bit of banter thrown over the dinner table, but other than that I’m sure they’d be happy for me.

“As a kid growing up in England, I supported England. Obviously that’s all changed now (since) moving to Australia.

“A few of the boys were joking around at the World Cup that I was singing the English national anthem, which was definitely not the case.”

Legendary names like Ricky Ponting and Shane Warne are among Inglis’ admirers, with Ponting saying: “I think he’s going to be a really good cricketer for Australia for a long time in whatever format they pick him in first, whether its T20s, one-dayers or Test cricket.

“Speaking to Brad Haddin and even ‘Painey’ – they really rate his keeping, they talk really highly of it. He could definitely be a long term, not just an international player, (but also) a Test player.”

Warne, meanwhile, wrote in a recent column for the Sunday Telegraph : “Inglis gets my vote [as Paine’s replacement].

“He’s got silky smooth hands behind the stumps, he’s a 360 degree player with the bat and coming off three first class hundreds last season for Western Australia.”