“I’ve heard that ‘Uzzy’ is not the biggest fan of it" - Nathan McSweeney on potentially having to face the first ball of the innings against India
South Australia cricketer Nathan McSweeney earned his maiden national call-up for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, effectively ending the debate surrounding Usman Khawaja's opening partner in Tests. The right-handed batter recently led Australia A in the unofficial Test series against India and played as an opener in the second game at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).
McSweeney's case was pressed on the back of a sublime 2024, and a blistering start to the ongoing season of the Sheffield Shield. He pipped the likes of Sam Konstas, Cameron Bancroft, and Marcus Harris to burst his way into the Australian squad, where he is most likely to open the innings.
Australia were searching for a new opening batter after Steve Smith was restored to his No. 4 slot, while Cameron Green was ruled out. The Aussies had used Smith as a makeshift option earlier this year following David Warner's retirement.
McSweeney opened up about the prospect of facing the brand new cherry up front first since his senior partner Usman Khawaja prefers to begin at the non-striker's end.
“I’ve heard that ‘Uzzy’ (Khawaja) is not the biggest fan of it. I faced the first ball in both innings out here (at the MCG), so I’m comfortable with that. I’ve already been told that by a couple of the boys. Other than walk out one position earlier than I normally do, my prep is the exact same. I trained with the new ball batting at three, and you can be in there in the first over of the game," McSweeney told reporters following his inclusion in the Australia squad.
The Border-Gavaskar Trophy series is set to begin at the Optus Stadium in Perth on November 22.
"It still probably hasn't quite sunk in yet" - Nathan McSweeney
McSweeney scored 14 and 25 in the first and the second innings, respectively, in his stint as an opener during the six-wicket win over India A. He will have to face the likes of Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, and Akash Deep in the upcoming Test series.
"It still probably hasn't quite sunk in yet. I'm getting a lot of nice messages ... a lot of the boys have been on WhatsApp," McSweeney added in the same interaction.
The South Australia batter has made 34 first-class appearances since his debut in 2018. He has scored 2252 runs at an average of 38.16, which includes six hundreds.