November 6, 2024: Uncapped Australian cricketer Nathan McSweeney is on the verge of making his Test debut in the upcoming 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy series against India, with a potential role as an opening batter alongside Usman Khawaja.
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McSweeney has been promoted to the top of the order for Australia’s upcoming tour match against India A at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), as part of his bid to secure the vacant opener’s spot in the Australian team.
McSweeney, who scored 39 and an unbeaten 88 against India A in Mackay last week while batting at No. 4, will now face a bigger challenge by opening the batting in the tour match in Melbourne. The move comes after the retirement of long-time opener David Warner earlier this year, leaving a gap at the top of the order for the Australia-India Test series. With Steve Smith returning to his preferred role at No. 4, the opener’s position remains up for grabs.
Though McSweeney has never opened the batting at the domestic level, Australian great Ricky Ponting has backed the Queensland-born, South Australian player to take on the role. Ponting has expressed confidence in McSweeney’s abilities, citing his recent strong performances, his leadership experience as a former Australia A captain, and his maturity as key attributes. Ponting has also noted that the other candidates—Cameron Bancroft and Marcus Harris—have already had opportunities and are unlikely to be recalled for the opener’s spot.
Ponting, speaking on The ICC Review, said:
“I don’t think they’d go back to a Bancroft or a Harris because if they were willing to do that, they would have done it last year. The only name left for me more or less is Nathan McSweeney. He’s got the most out of any of those guys in the ‘A’ game in Australia at the moment. He’s more experienced and has captained Australia A in the past. I’m leaning towards McSweeney for the opening role at the start of the Australian summer.”
Australia’s selection chair, George Bailey, has confirmed that the upcoming match in Melbourne will be crucial in determining the final composition of Australia’s squad for the first Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, which begins on November 22 in Perth. McSweeney will open the batting alongside Marcus Harris for the Australia A team in the Melbourne match, with Cameron Bancroft and teenager Sam Konstas filling other key positions in the order.
The Australia A match against India A will provide selectors with additional insights into McSweeney’s readiness to make the leap to Test cricket and whether he is the right player to partner Khawaja at the top of the order. India A, in turn, will use this match to assess their own fringe players, including batters KL Rahul and Dhruv Jurel, ahead of the Test series.
If McSweeney impresses in this game, it will greatly increase his chances of making the final 13-player squad for the first Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, as Australia looks to settle on their opening combination for the high-stakes series against India.
