Josh Inglis is preparing to rejoin the Australia squad in South Africa ahead of the second Test in Gqeberha. Inglis returned home previously to manage a fractured finger sustained during the first ODI in Durban late last month. Following medical confirmation that surgery was not required, he is now traveling to continue his recovery within the team environment, with the objective of featuring in the tour’s second half.
Selection dynamics and squad updates
Australia’s selectors face a complex task ahead of the Gqeberha Test, with Cameron Green also monitored after suffering an abdominal strain during the final ODI. Inglis had been a frontrunner for the opening Test XI, but his injury necessitated a reshuffle.
- Head coach Andrew McDonald noted the tactical shift, stating, “It really turned into two players replacing Josh Inglis. If you looked at it like that, it wasn’t [just] another batter coming in. We had sort of flexibility with Josh and then Harper obviously takes the back-up glove role and then you’ve got where we got to with Nic.”
- Nic Maddinson was selected as an opener for the Test series, marking his first first-class appearance since March 2025; he returned to cricket after overcoming testicular cancer in September.
- Maddinson recorded a 33-ball duck in the first innings of the ongoing Test, his first match in the format since the 2016 Boxing Day Test against Pakistan.
