Follow UsIf grabbing an opportunity had a face, it has to be Josh Inglis, at least in recent times. In the 2023 ODI World Cup, Inglis was swapped into the team in Alex Carey's place right after the first match against India in Chennai. And at that point, it seemed harsh. Why would you drop a player after the first match of a long tournament?
What went against Carey, perhaps, was the fact that he had just two 30-plus scores in 11 previous innings - 12 if you include a first-ball duck in the World Cup opener.
However, when Inglis came in, he may not have scored big, but what he showed was intent and induced momentum, scoring at over 100 every time he went into double figures. Australia and Inglis never looked back after that.
Inglis continued to don the gloves and made the best of every opportunity that came his way across formats. So much so that in a span of 15 months, Inglis became the fourth Australian to score a century across all three formats after Shane Watson, Glenn Maxwell and David Warner.
Inglis is also the first Australian wicketkeeper to score a century in the Champions Trophy, doing something even Adam Gilchrist never did.
With Travis Head and Steven Smith - two of Australia's prolific run-scorers in recent times - scoring just a run-a-ball 11 between them in a chase of 352, things could have derailed pretty quickly.
Matthew Short (63) and Marnus Labuschagne (47) steadied the ship, but when Inglis walked in at 122/3 in the 20th over, there was still a mountain to climb. Australia could have panicked and lost a flurry of wickets, which might have given England the upper hand.
To add to Inglis' woes, the well-set Short too was dismissed when the wicketkeeper was on just 10 off 12. England's to lose from here? Certainly.
Inglis scored just 19 off his first 20 deliveries. He saw that there were no real demons on the pitch in Lahore, and the outfield was lightning quick. His six off Liam Livingstone off the next ball over wide long-on was the start of things to come. From balls 21-86, he smashed a whopping 101 runs.
Along with Carey, who he replaced at the World Cup in 2023, Inglis grew from strength to strength. He played aggressive cricket but at no point did it look rash. It was calculated. When there was a drought of boundaries, the batters did not panic. They waited for the right ball to put away.
Inglis peppered the mid-wicket fence, scoring at a strike rate of 189. He did not even attempt an unconventional shot until he got to his hundred, and Australia were in pole position.
The 29-year-old comes across as someone who could dictate terms with his brute force and also play innovative strokes. But that is far from reality, as Inglis played traditional cricket shots and got maximum impetus from them.
It was something we have seen England do to the opposition several times under Brendon McCullum, at least in Tests, where audacious strokeplay and attacking strokeplay at every opportunity seemed to have breathed new life into the format. However, it has clearly not worked in white-ball cricket, where England have lost eight of the nine matches since Baz took over as limited-overs head coach.
The latest to add to his agony are Inglis and Australia. The Aussies may be without their world-class pace trio of Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, and Mitchell Starc, but Inglis ensured they are were not missed, at least not today.