Josh Inglis says he would sacrifice any personal success if it meant Australia claim glory at the upcoming T20 World Cup.
The wicketkeeper has been called up to represent his country for the first time ahead of the first edition of this tournament for five years, with Oman and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) hosting.
Uncapped, English-born Inglis has been tipped to play a key role for Australia and he was thrilled to get the call-up after a stunning run of form in domestic cricket.
"It was pure elation really," he said. "I was in the UK at the time, in The Hundred competition, so to get the call was amazing, gave me a huge boost, I'm just really proud.
"[A perfect tournament] looks like winning the World Cup. When you come to a tournament, your aim is to win, if you're thinking about personal success you're probably in the wrong game.
"I would be more than happy to score zero runs for the tournament and lift the trophy. Everyone wants success but the goal is to lift that trophy.
"There is probably not too much expectation on me so I don't think I can worry about that or the fact that I haven't got the international experience.
"I've played against a lot of international players in the Blast and The Hundred, I can definitely lean on those.
"Once you get into the heat of the battle, you just get into it and come back to what's natural to you. If given the opportunity, I'm really looking forward to that."
Inglis is yet to discuss his role with coach Justin Langer but believes he will bat in the middle order if given the chance to play.
He starred in the T20 Blast for Leicestershire this year, scoring the most runs (531) of any player in England's domestic T20 competition.
Per Stats Perform data, Inglis scored a boundary once every 3.5 balls faced, the third most frequent of any player (min. six innings) in the campaign (behind Alex Hales – 3.2 and Will Jacks – 3.4).
In that time, he hit 63 fours, a tournament high and almost double the tally of his next best team-mate (Arron Lilley – 32).
Only Hales had a higher strike rate of the top-five run tournament scorers than his 175.8
Asked if his form in England had given him a boost, Inglis added: "Absolutely. It was one of the reasons I was keen to get over there, to play in different conditions and test my game in different conditions.
"As you see sometimes in the UK, with lots of cricket, the wickets do get a bit tired.
"So playing on slower wickets over there, I can really take that to the World Cup and playing on some of the slower pitches here."
Inglis has also been a leading performer in the Big Bash League.
In the 2020-21 BBL, Inglis logged an Opta batting dot-ball percentage of just 26.8 per cent. Among players to face at least 60 balls in the most recent edition only Jordan Silk (23.9) had a better rate.
Across the last two BBL campaigns Inglis has the third-highest strike rate (146.6) of the 25 players to score 500+ runs.
Inglis' strength against spin has been cited as a key reason for his selection for the T20 tournament, which gets under way on Sunday with the first round.
"I really enjoy batting against spin," he added. "I see it as a good challenge to score off every ball and try and manipulate the field to where you want to get it.
"It's really good fun, really enjoy it and easier on flatter wickets. We'll see what the conditions will be like here, it's going to be a challenge going up against some of the best spinners in the world."
Australia begin their campaign against South Africa on October 23 in what will be the first match of the Super 12 stage.
“We have the manpower within the dressing room”- Sammy confident Windies can overcome 0-2 deficit against England
West Indies white ball head coach Daren Sammy says there’s still optimism in his camp that they can overcome the 0-2 deficit they currently face in their five-game T20I series against England.
The hosts lost the first two game of the series at the Kensington Oval in Barbados on Saturday and Sunday, with the rest of the series now shifting to the Daren Sammy Stadium in St. Lucia beginning with the third T20I on Thursday.
“Most definitely, especially here in St. Lucia,” Sammy said in a pre-match interview on Tuesday regarding his team’s optimism ahead of Thursday’s must-win game and the rest of the series.
“Yes, England have played better cricket than us in these first two games but I’ve rallied St. Lucia to come out and be the 12th man that we need here. We just haven’t played the brand of cricket that has allowed us to win and it’s something that we’re going to address but we have the manpower within that dressing room to win on Thursday and take it one game at a time,” he added.
The West Indies will be without two key players for the rest of the series in Andre Russell and Shamar Joseph.
Russell suffered an ankle injury in the first T20I on Saturday and has been ruled out for the rest of the series while Joseph has left the squad to prepare for the upcoming Test series against Bangladesh starting on November 22 in Antigua.
Replacing the pair are all-rounder Shamar Springer and spearhead Alzarri Joseph, returning to the squad after serving a two-game suspension.
“It’s always a blow to replace somebody like Andre Russell. We have young Shamar Springer who made his debut in Sri Lanka to replace him. He’s a really exciting prospect,” Sammy said.
“Shamar will go in and get ready for the Test series and Alzarri is back from his suspension. We’re looking forward to welcoming him and the experience he brings to the squad. Yes, we lose two key guys but we get two guys who are capable of doing the job for the team as well,” he added.
Springer replaces injured Russell in Windies squad for final leg of England T20Is in Saint Lucia; returning Alzarri Joseph replaces Shamar Joseph
All-rounder Shamar Springer and pacer Alzarri Joseph have been drafted into the West Indies T20I squad ahead of the crucial St. Lucia leg of their “Rivalry” series against England, CWI announced on Tuesday.
Springer replaces Andre Russell who has been ruled out due to a left ankle sprain sustained during the opening T20I at the Kensington Oval in Barbados on Saturday.
The 26-year-old Bajan recently made his international debut during the West Indies tour of Sri Lanka in October.
The other change sees Alzarri Joseph, having completed his two-match suspension, rejoin the squad in Saint Lucia, replacing Shamar Joseph.
The West Indies currently trail the five-match series 0-2.
The squad for the final three games is as follows:
Remaining Schedule of West Indies vs England T20I Series:
3rd T20 International: 14 November 2024- Daren Sammy Stadium, Saint Lucia
4th T20 International: 16 November 2024- Daren Sammy Stadium, Saint Lucia
5th T20 International: 17 November 2024- Daren Sammy Stadium, Saint Lucia
'Brutal' Australia review exactly what England needed, says Sleightholme
Ollie Sleightholme described England's review of their late defeat to Australia as "brutal", but insisted it was exactly what the squad needed.
England had led by 12 points and then trailed by 10 in an end-to-end encounter, but Maro Itoje's 78th-minute try seemed to have settled matters by moving the hosts 37-35 ahead.
However, in the final play of the match, Len Ikitau found space and fed replacement wing Max Jorgensen, who settled the contest.
The result saw the Wallabies defeat England at the Allianz Stadium for the first time since the pool stages of the 2015 Rugby World Cup when they won 33-13, with their tally of 42 points the most they had scored away to the Red Roses.
The result was their second narrow defeat in the Autumn Nations Series after the two-point loss to New Zealand, and their fourth defeat in a row.
Sleightholme came on as a replacement and scored twice in the second half to register his first two international tries, but provided insight into what followed after the loss.
"It has been really good to chew the fat on what happened and really get a grasp of what we need to do and what needs to change," Sleightholme told BBC Sport.
"It was a brutal view and it needs to be. It was a case of getting it all out there and not shying away from any of it.
"At the end of the day we didn't get it done. It is a frustrating review and a frustrating game to look back on.
"We left some opportunities out there and we didn't nullify some of their attacks. There are a few things [to work on] in all areas."
Saturday marked the first time England have lost four Test matches in a row since 2018, when they suffered five straight defeats under Eddie Jones.
It is the fourth game in five matches that Steve Borthwick's side have fallen on the wrong side of the result during the final play.
It followed two close Tests against the All Blacks in July and a 33-31 defeat by France in their final game of this year's Six Nations.
On Saturday, England will face world champions South Africa, who defeated Scotland in their opening match of the autumn series on Sunday.
"We're testing fans' patience, testing our patience," said England's Ben Earl. "It feels like we won the game twice against Australia and then managed to lose it. Frustrating.
"Not the same old problems, different problems, but the same overwhelming feeling of another game that we've let slip. So food for thought."
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