Nathan McSweeney has been dropped from the Australian squad for the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy, and has been replaced by 19-year-old opener Sam Konstas. McSweeney was dropped after the third Test, which ended as a draw due to rain. He made his Test debut in Perth, and has now been excluded after only three matches.
Speaking on Fox Cricket, former Australia cricketer Mark Waugh felt that McSweeney has fallen victim to a process of elimination due to favouritism of senior players in the squad. Meanwhile, Waugh also predicted that Konstas would open in the fourth Test with Usman Khawaja. “He’ll open, I reckon he’s a certainty to open,” he said.
“I think they’ve selected him with the thought process that they need a bit more positive stroke play at the top of the order, particularly with Usman and Marnus struggling slightly.
“Nathan McSweeney wasn’t scoring either. So I think the young, more aggressive player will play for sure.”
Michael Hussey poses ‘Jasprit Bumrah’ question
Meanwhile, Michael Hussey felt that it was unfair on McSweeney as he had to face the likes of Jasprit Bumrah, and the other Aussie batters also didn’t perform. Hussey said, “I mean, it’s exciting for Sam. Great opportunity for him, but it is a tough call because it hasn’t been easy for the opening batters from either team.”
“The ball’s been moving around a bit. It’s not going to be that easy just to come out and be really aggressive against someone like Bumrah on pitches that have got plenty in it.
“I mean, you can look at it both ways. The top order, yes, they haven’t been scoring, but they’ve been chewing up a bit of time to allow guys like Travis Head and Alex Carey to come in and play their natural game.
“So I think it’s a tough call, but, you know, they’re obviously pretty strong about going hard to try and win these last two Tests,” he added.
But Waugh also feels that the Australian team was picked in this manner for the remaining two matches due to the importance of the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024.
“I think they’ve picked the team on winning these last two Test matches,” he said.
“They’re not worrying about the future as much. You always keep an eye on the future, but this is a huge series and you’ve got the World Test Championship, that carrot dangling away as well.
“So I think the selectors, they’re thinking about the MCG Test and the SCG Test. What’s our best team to win those two Test matches?
“And they think they need a bit more fire power at the top of the order with the bat, maybe.
“I mean, you couldn’t really drop one of the more experienced players, so it’s probably Nathan McSweeney just through process of elimination, actually,” he added.
Hussey also wanted an answer as to why did Australia make the change as they were in better form in India in the ongoing series.
The fourth Test is scheduled to be held in Melbourne, and will begin on Boxing Day (December 26). The first Test began with a win for India in Perth, and then the Aussies staged a comeback in Adelaide to level the series at 1-1. Then in Brisbane, it looked like the hosts were cruising to a win, but rain came to India’s rescue and both sides had to settle for a draw.
