Ashes: England-born Josh Inglis will not have split loyalties if picked by Australia
- Published
Josh Inglish played for London Spirit in the men's Hundred this year and also for Leicestershire in the T20 Blast
England-born wicketkeeper Josh Inglis says he will not have any split loyalties if selected by Australia for the upcoming Ashes.
Inglis, 26, is one of the leading candidates to replace Tim Paine, who stepped down as captain before taking a break from cricket last week.
Western Australia's Inglis was born in Leeds and lived in the UK until age 14, when his family moved to Australia.
"As a kid growing up in England, I obviously supported England," he said.
"But that's all changed now moving to Australia.
"Once you start building your way up in professional cricket, it's quite hard trying to play for a team and not supporting them. That changed pretty quickly."
The first Ashes Test starts at the Gabba in Brisbane on 8 December.
Paine, 36, resigned as captain earlier this month over a historical investigation into sexually explicit texts which he sent to a female colleague in November 2017.
He initially remained the only wicketkeeper in the Australia squad for the Ashes and eligible for selection, until announcing he was taking an indefinite break from the sport.
Fast bowler Pat Cummins succeeded Paine as Test captain on Friday, with batter and former captain Steve Smith promoted to vice-captain. However, Australia are yet to announce a new keeper.
Australia A keepers Inglis and Alex Carey are the two main candidates to take the gloves.
Right-handed batter Inglis was an unused member of Australia's Men's T20 World Cup-winning squad and has yet to make his international debut.
He has scored 2,246 runs in 45 first-class matches at an average of 34.03, with three centuries that were all made in last year's Sheffield Shield.
Carey, 30, is also yet to make his Test debut but has played 45 one-day internationals and 38 T20s for Australia.
However, Australia greats Ricky Ponting, Adam Gilchrist and Shane Warne have all called on Inglis to be selected.
"You don't want to read too much into it because they are not the guys making the decision," said Inglis.
"But for them to say some really nice things about me is nice to hear."