3 reasons why Nathan McSweeney could be Australia's dark horse in BGT 2024-25 series vs India
The high-octane 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy is finally upon us with India and Australia set to take the field for the opening Test in Perth, starting tomorrow (November 22). While Team India are coming off a shocking home Test series whitewash to New Zealand, Australia defeated the same opponent the last time they were in the whites in New Zealand earlier in the year.
Yet, India possibly holds the psychological edge over Australia, having beaten them in the previous four bilateral Test series. Among other similarities between the two sides heading into the series opener, the uncertainty of the second opener spot stands out.
Team India will be forced to open with a non-regular option to partner Yashasvi Jaiswal in the absence of Rohit Sharma for the opening Test. For Australia, talented Queensland-born batter Nathan McSweeney will partner veteran opener Usman Khawaja at the top.
McSweeney will debut for Australia in the Perth Test, overcoming competition from capped openers like Cameron Bancroft and Marcus Harris. His selection has warranted mixed reactions from even a few former Australian players. Yet, he could be a thorn in the Indian side during the five-Test series, catching them off-guard occasionally.
On that note, let us look at three reasons why Nathan McSweeney could be Australia's dark horse in the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy against India.
#1 McSweeney should be most in tune with the Australian pitches
While the other batters from both teams have been playing in different parts of the world across formats, Nathan McSweeney has been scoring runs for fun on Australian wickets coming into the Indian series
The 25-year-old has played six red-ball and List-A games over the last two months for South Australia (4) and Australia A (2) in home conditions. McSweeney has also been in terrific form on some challenging wickets, scoring 600 runs in eight innings at an average of 75 with two centuries and three fifties.
The right-hander scored a brilliant 178-ball 88* in his most recent innings to help Australia A successfully chase down 226 against India A. While McSweeney averages a slightly below-par 38.16 at the first-class level, his strike rate of 41.92 demonstrates his ability to occupy the crease.
This could be particularly handy against the new ball on the spicy pitches expected in the first half of the series in Perth, Adelaide (D/N), and Brisbane.
McSweeney playing day in and day out leading up to the India series could help him come to grips with the Australian pitches before some of the other batters from both teams.
#2 Benefits of the unknown - McSweeney could be Australia's Shubman Gill from 2020-21
Most fans and experts will do well to remember India's injury-ridden side stunning the Aussies on their home soil in the 2020-21 Border-Gavaskar Trophy. While the inexperience of those who replaced the mainstays was considered a massive disadvantage for Team India, they ultimately turned that into their biggest strength.
Australia was caught off-guard by some of the newcomers, whose tendencies and weaknesses could not be as easily broken down and exploited. A prime example of that was Shubman Gill, who debuted in the final three Tests of the 2020-21 series and flourished with the bat.
The youngster scored 259 runs at an average of almost 52, including a match-winning 91 in the series decider. It was crystal clear that the world-class Aussie attack never previously bowling to Gill worked to the batter's advantage.
Similarly, none of the Indian bowlers likely to play in the upcoming series would have bowled to McSweeney. Strategizing a workable formula against the right-hander may take a game or two even with all the video analysis of his strengths and weaknesses, thus benefiting McSweeney and Australia.
#3 McSweeney's batting style at the top is tailormade for this series
![McSweeney's attritional batting could be ideal to overcome Bumrah's opening burst [Credit: Getty]](https://statico.sportskeeda.com/editor/2024/11/4b013-17321822425580-1920.jpg)
Nathan McSweeney is one of the rare modern batters who still grinds out his runs in an old-fashioned way in red-ball cricket.
The 25-year-old has a first-class strike rate of under 42 with only eight maximums in 67 innings. This is evidence of McSweeney's ability to bat time and weather the storm before playing extravagant strokes.
Such a batting style has proven to work wonders in several past India-Australia series down under. With India heavily reliant on ace pacer Jasprit Bumrah's early strikes in the absence of Mohammed Shami, McSweeney spending time against the new ball is invaluable irrespective of how many runs he eventually finishes with.
Even while averaging 97 in the two Sheffield Shield outings, the right-hander has scored at a strike rate of 45.68 - further evidence of the price he places on his wicket.
With a dangerous middle-order to follow and the ease of batting against the older Kookaburra ball in Australian conditions, McSweeney's batting style could be the deciding factor in Australia's ultimate success against the Indian attack.