Mitchell Johnson: Josh Inglis still has time to become a great Test wicketkeeper for Australia

West Australian Josh Inglis is proving why he is the best white-ball keeper-batsman in the country. And why he should have played in this year’s failed T20 World Cup campaign. Inglis’ 43-ball century against Scotland on Friday night at the picturesque The Grange was the fastest T20I hundred by an Australian. He lit up the game in the cold, grey and wet conditions. And don’t let the opposition devalue his record knock. Scotland are an international cricket team proudly playing for their country and playing at home. Don’t forget they were right on top against England before rain saved the Poms in the World Cup, and the Scots pushed Australia until the final over and only narrowly missed the Super 8s. Inglis, 29, has been around the team for long enough to feel like a significant cog. He hasn’t let the disappointment of being overlooked for Matthew Wade at the World Cup get him down and has continued to excel at the top level. He is a hard worker behind the scenes, always working on his skills as a batter but most importantly on his wicketkeeping. One thing I noticed in my time as a cricketer is, wickettees (as I call them) work so hard. They are the glue of any team in a way between batsmen and bowlers. And if you look at the history of cricket and wicketees in Australia, they are always in and around the action, keeping the team up and about in the middle. The impact of wicketkeepers has become even more important this century, with many becoming dangerously good top-order batters in the short formats and destructive No.7s in the Test arena. Speaking of Test cricket, I believe Inglis is very capable in that form also. Is he being wasted now being made to wait behind Alex Carey? Yes and no. If you look at them both as purely keepers, they are both quality and Carey, 33, has now had a great time in the middle for Australia and deserves to be there. I’m sure Inglis is ready for the baggy green and this is the thing, when you have players who are pushing each other and getting the best out of each other, that’s a good sign. It might not be easy when you’re that player that isn’t selected but this is what it’s all about at the top level. The Shane Warne/Stuart MacGill era is an extreme example given Warne was the greatest ever but you get my drift. What I would say to Josh in this situation is just keep maintaining your standards, put runs on the board, break some batting records if you like, and keep well. Just keep putting your name up there with good, consistent performances alongside some outstanding ones and enjoy the moments because being selected is out of your control. The only control you have is what you do at training and in games. In the shorter formats, Inglis has a really good understanding of his role in the team. He is a batsman that can float up and down the order and still be able play the role needed. I do like him at the top though, where it gives him more of a chance to set up his innings. The short tour of Scotland and England is a great opportunity for Australia to give some inexperienced players some valuable time in the middle. Playing without the ‘big three’ quicks in Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood in Scotland has let some new blood in. There’s going to be a transition period soon anyway so to not have them in the XI is showing what the next generation of players are capable of but also that we are capable of playing without them. Moving on from any great generation of players takes time and it’s not always going to be easy, but it’s about the experience of being out in the middle, making some mistakes and learning how to combat that and bounce back from all situations. It’s a learning process all cricketers have gone through. The best thing to do is play your game to the best of your ability and keep learning. Mitch Marsh captaining the side gave his players plenty of encouragement in an interview leading into the tour. As an inexperienced player, that’s what you want to hear from your skipper. It then comes down to you to back yourself and your skills. Where you really get tested is when you’re being hit for runs. How you react is where you learn and then gain experience. Xavier Bartlett got a bit of that in his first over in the second game but was able to come back, shrug off the first over and bowl well to finish his spell. That’s a lesson right there for the bowling group without the big guns to help them out there - you have four overs, 24 balls and every ball counts.