Josh Inglis is ready for a baptism of spin-sparked fire at the Twenty20 World Cup where the bolter is in line to debut for Australia.
Inglis, a dashing wicketkeeper-batter who was born in Leeds, leapfrogged Alex Carey and Josh Philippe to be a shock inclusion in Australia's squad for the tournament in the UAE.
Matthew Wade is expected to be behind the stumps for the side's tournament-opener against South Africa on October 23, but Inglis could make a compelling case for selection especially if given a chance to fire in a pair of warm-up games.
Iconic keepers Ian Healy and Adam Gilchrist have both heaped praise on Inglis.
Legend Ricky Ponting and Perth Scorchers teammate Mitch Marsh, who is likely to bat at first drop at the World Cup, are particularly big fans of Inglis' ability to score freely off spin.
The 26-year-old knows that his strong suit will be tested if given a chance in high-pressure matches on what are likely to be low-scoring pitches.
But Inglis is "thoroughly looking forward to that challenge if it comes" as he and teammates prepare to hit the nets on Thursday after ending a six-day stint in hard quarantine.
"I do really enjoy batting against spin, I see it as a really good challenge to just be able to score off every ball and try to manipulate the field," Inglis told reporters.
"It's obviously easier on flatter wickets, so we'll see what the conditions are like here.
"It's obviously going to be a challenge coming up against some of the best spinners in the world.
"If I do play, I think it'll be that sort of middle-order role ... we'll just wait and see."
Inglis, whose experience on the subcontinent is limited to a handful of development tours, believes a recent productive stint in England will hold him in good stead during coming weeks.
"Sometimes in the UK with lots of cricket and lots of traffic, the wickets do get a bit tired," he said.
"So playing on some spinning and slow wickets over there, I can really take that into the World Cup and playing on some of the slower pitches here.
"One of the reasons I was really keen to get over there was just to play in different conditions and test my game in different conditions."
Australian Associated Press
