Never mind the accent, inglis is now a true-blue aussie

He was born and raised in England, spent his childhood rooting against the Aussies, and still cops some ribbing from teammates about his accent. But make no mistake: Josh Inglis is now a

true-blue Australian. The 26-year-old potential Ashes debutant is primed for his Baggy Green moment if it comes, having traversed a most unusual path to be on the cusp of selection. Inglis

lived in Yorkshire until he was 14 before relocating to WA, where he has now spent nearly half his life and bolted into the frame for an Australian Test call-up. While the country he’s

striving to play for has changed, the accent hasn’t quite changed along with it, opening him up for some banter from his teammates. “I sort of lost it (the accent) last year and then I went

back to the UK for the summer and I think I picked up the twang again,” Inglis said. “A few of the boys were joking around at the World Cup that I was singing the English national anthem,

which definitely wasn’t the case. But it was pretty funny.” THE GAME: SIGN UP FOR FREE CRICKET TIPPING, WITH $23,000 WORTH OF PRIZES UP FOR GRABS! Inglis said his family would be thrilled if

a debut for his adopted nation were to eventuate, with a decision on Tim Paine’s replacement as wicketkeeper expected as early as Tuesday. “It’d obviously be very interesting. It doesn’t

happen very often,” he said. “They’d be really proud and happy for me if it were to happen. “It’s incredibly exciting. There might be a bit of banter thrown over the dinner table, but other

than that I’m sure they’d be happy for me.” Inglis said his earliest Ashes memories were of watching now Australian coach Justin Langer opening the batting with Matthew Hayden at the Gabba

in 2002, courtesy of an international TV feed and early wake-up in Leeds. “I remember getting up early in the morning to watch with my dad,” he said. “I remember watching JL – it might have

been the first game at the Gabba – watching JL and Haydos batting, and I think Haydos got a big hundred (197). “I remember that quite vividly, and then ever since… Ashes series are huge.

It’s probably the pinnacle of the sport and every series is so huge.” GET THE LATEST NEWS FROM THEWEST.COM.AU IN YOUR INBOX. Sign up for our emails