Australia in Sri Lanka: West Australian Josh Inglis firming for Test debut as a spin specialist on Wednesday

He’s the West Aussie with a strong-as-ever Yorkshire accent who has already won a World Cup and captained Australia. Now Josh Inglis is in line for a Test debut. The 29-year-old, with a long apprenticeship as a reserve batter for one of the country’s great teams, is firming to be called on as a spin specialist in the first of two Tests against Sri Lanka from Wednesday. He is one of the most dynamic and reliable wicketkeepers in the country, but it is his growing record with the bat — and experience at the international level — that has put Inglis on the cusp of the Test team. The diminutive batter has a low centre of gravity, is excellent on the sweep and can access every pocket of the ground. It makes him the prototypical spin expert in the middle order. Inglis’ Test door looks set to finally open because Australia has confirmed Travis Head will head to the top of the order — where he will partner Usman Khawaja — as he did in India two years ago. But they will wait to get one more look at the closely guarded wicket in Galle before they name a final team for the first Test. Left-arm spinner Matthew Kuhnemann appears almost certain to play — which could push back WA sensation Cooper Connolly’s debut — as part of a slow-bowling attack that will include Nathan Lyon and possibly Todd Murphy. Smith said the make-up of the side would not be settled on until Wednesday morning. Grass was taken off the wicket on Monday after Australia’s contingent had left the ground and there has been little sunlight as thunderstorms close in, leaving them wary of changing conditions. But the stand-in captain did confirm Head will return to the top of the order. “Trav will go to the top, but other than that, it will be pretty stable,” Smith said. “I don’t see there being a great deal of change, that’s pretty much it. He’ll be opening ... with (Usman). “I think the selectors liked what they saw in India when he had that opportunity, he got after the new ball, scored quickly and put the pressure on them straight away. I guess it’s similar thinking here.” Smith wouldn’t rule out Konstas shifting down the order. The 19-year-old made his debut for New South Wales batting at No.3 but was quickly elevated to open. But the vacancy is more likely to be at Head’s No.5 position, which leaves Inglis and Nathan McSweeney — who was axed after three Tests during the home summer as a makeshift opener — the leading candidates. That’s unless they were to pick Connolly as a second all-rounder alongside Beau Webster, who made his debut in Sydney earlier this month. “All these things are being spoken about. We will wait and see, we have got all the options available to us. We will see how we go,” Smith said. Smith, standing in as captain for Pat Cummins, was asked directly about Inglis on the eve of the match and said it “is possible” he is handed a debut. “Just playing what’s in front of us here, it’s quite different I think to back home on the surfaces we have been playing on there where it is very pace-dominant, we imagine this is going to be quite spin-dominant,” he said. “So things change, you have got to play the different tempos of the game that are in front of you at that stage. I think we have got all the options available to us.” Inglis moved from England to Australia as a teenager and was quickly swallowed into WA’s talent pathways. He made both his list-A and first-class debuts for Cricket Australia development sides, but was blooded in Twenty20 cricket during the powerhouse era of Justin Langer’s Perth Scorchers. He displaced Alex Carey as Australia’s first-choice wicketkeeper at the 2023 World Cup, then won that tournament, made a 47-ball century, and captained the country in a one-day international and a series of T20s just over 12 months later. A decent lead-in to the Border-Gavaskar Trophy this summer meant Inglis played three red-ball matches for WA. He scored 363 runs from six digs in the tournament, including 122 against Tasmania at the WACA Ground. Inglis would become the 470th man to play Test cricket for Australia and the fourth in the past six matches. Smith also confirmed second-Test all-rounder Webster, who only turned to bowling seam-up a few years ago, is a genuine option to take the new ball. But the Tasmanian has also been honing his over-the-top off-spin on Australia’s training camp in Dubai and again in Galle. Smith said he “definitely” has the tools to take the new ball. “He stands the seam up really nicely, hits good areas and whether it’s him opening the bowling with Mitchell Starc or a spinner opening, there are plenty of options there, we will just have to assess the surface and what we think is best at the time,” he said. “He is certainly someone who could take the new ball. “I think that’s going to be all surface-dependent. We have got a few spinners I daresay are going to play, and then we have got plenty of other options with Heady, Marnus (Labuschagne), Beau obviously can bowl both.”