NEWS
Follow UsAustralia have taken a step forward in confirming Usman Khawaja’s opening partner for the Perth Test against India starting on November 22. Nathan McSweeney, a strong contender for the role, will be pushed to open the batting in Australia A’s second unofficial Test against India A. The move indicates that he is the frontrunner to make his debut in the first Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test.
The 25-year-old from South Australia, McSweeney, has never opened in first-class cricket before. He has majorly batted at number four and played a key role in Australia A’s seven-wicket win in the first four-day fixture against India A, scoring 39 and 88* batting at four.
Now, he will be opening alongside Marcus Harris (another candidate for the same role) in the second match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). To accommodate this move, Sam Konstas will go down to number four with Cameron Bancroft listed at number three.
"As flagged prior to the series the batting order was subject to adjustment throughout the two-match series," chair of selectors George Bailey said. "We will use the opportunity this week to gather our final information before the announcement of the Test squad for the Border-Gavaskar Series following the Australia A match."
Konstas, 19, was another contender for the vacant opening spot. He had a fantastic start to the 2024/25 Sheffield Shield season, scoring twin hundreds in the first round for New South Wales against South Australia. However, scores of 0 & 16 against India A in Mackay have pushed him down in the pecking order.
Bancroft, who has played 10 Tests for Australia before, was also an option but hasn’t been at his best in the ongoing season. Coincidentally, he also scored 0 & 16 in the Mackay fixture.
McSweeney, meanwhile, averages 104.5 in three Sheffield Shield fixtures this season with three fifties and one hundred. In the only List A game he has played this season in the one-day cup, the right-hander pummeled 137 off 131 balls in a losing cause for South Australia. Also, Australia A’s skipper, McSweeney, has been in top form this season, making a case for an Australia debut.
"I'm really confident in my game. I'm progressing and I'm batting some of the best innings I've played," McSweeney told reporters in Mackay after the win over India A. "Hopefully I can continue to learn and get better. If the opportunity comes, I feel like I'm ready.
"If it doesn't, I'll keep working hard and hope that one day I get that call-up. "All I can worry about is making sure my game is in good order. I've got to continue to try and punch out runs."
However, during the ongoing ODI series against Pakistan, skipper Pat Cummins hinted at the possibility of McSweeney batting at three with Marnus Labuschagne moving up to open alongside Khawaja.
"Ronnie [coach Andrew McDonald] and I have said it quite a bit - where you bat isn't that important. Maybe once we we kind of start discussing who's in the side, then you start looking at the batting order,” Cummins said before the first ODI against Pakistan in Melbourne.
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