Ricky Ponting deems Josh Inglis: The former Australian captain has once again spoken highly of an uncapped wicket-keeper batter.
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Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting believes that the recent controversy around wicket-keeper batter Tim Paine will “bubble along” where ever he goes.
Despite Australia scheduled to host England for an all-important Ashes series starting from December 8 in Brisbane, Ponting is of the opinion that Paine’s sexting scandal will be a distraction which won’t “go away” easily.
“I think inevitably it [controversy] will [be a distraction],” Ponting was quoted as saying by cricket.com.au. “Yes, he’s made a huge call for himself, for Australian cricket and for the betterment of the Australian cricket team. But it’s not going to go away.
“We’re only a few weeks out from the first Test – it will bubble along. As much as we would all love to see it go away and there comes a point where it’s never talked about, it’s inevitable that it’s going to be there. Unfortunately for Tim, he’s going to get asked about it everywhere he goes.”
Ricky Ponting deems Josh Inglis to be Tim Paine’s long-term replacement
With Paine resigning as the captain of the Test squad, Cricket Australia are in a race against time to name a new captain ahead of the first Ashes Test. Paine, who is part of Australia’s 15-member squad for the first two Ashes 2021-22 Tests, isn’t guaranteed to play for two reasons – a) reprimand of his involvement in a scandal and b) neck injury.
Assuming that Paine plays no role in the upcoming premier series, Australia are highly likely to pick one out of Alex Carey or Josh Inglis with Josh Philippe being a left-field option. While neither of the three have played a Test before, Carey and Philippe have played 83 and 13 white-ball matches for Australia respectively. Inglis, on the other hand, is yet to play international cricket.
Being asked about Paine’s replacement as a wicket-keeper batter, Ponting presented a short-term and a long-term scenario picking Carey and Inglis for the two situations respectively.
“If he [Paine] plays this series and he finishes at the end of the series, they might look at a younger guy. If he’s not picked for Brisbane they might think about someone who’s a bit more experienced, being an Ashes series.
“If Paine doesn’t play in Brisbane, the obvious one is Alex Carey. If Paine does the play the Ashes series, they might look at someone like [Josh] Inglis post this summer,” Ponting added.
Readers must note that Ponting has publicly advocated for Inglis twice in the past. Other than Ponting, former Australia wicket-keeper batter Brad Haddin and Paine himself have rated Inglis highly on various occasions previously.
“I’m on record saying I love Inglis – 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,” Ponting concluded. Much like Ponting, his teammate in 207 matches across formats and legendary spinner Shane Warne has also been vocal about Inglis getting a go at the highest level.
