There has been a lot of talk around the Australian Test team and the opening slot. A lot of pundits have put out their choices for the second opener’s role ahead of the all-important Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
David Warner retired from Test cricket in January earlier this year. His last Test was against Pakistan at the SCG. Steve Smith moved to the top of the order but didn’t taste much success. He played four Tests and scored 171 runs at an average of 28.50. Out of those, 91 came in just one knock against West Indies which was his only fifty as an opener.
However, Smith and the selectors have made it clear that the 35-year-old will move back to his best spot, No. 4. He averages a staggering 61.50 at the two-down slot.
Hence, there has been a lot of debate around the opener’s slot. The name of Sam Konstas came into prominence early in the season when he smashed 152 & 105 in the game against South Australia. Since then, he’s not made an impact in the other two games. He flopped in his maiden outing for Australia A against India A. He got scores of 0 & 16.
Hence, Ricky Ponting who had earlier called for the Konstas to be included in the Test setup has moved away from his stance. The former Australian captain didn’t shy away from the fact that Konstas has the talent to succeed. But he believes the 19-year-old needs more experience, especially in conditions where the ball moves around a bit.
“I was put on the spot about a week ago, and I sort of immediately went to the young guy, Sam Konstas. He had come off back-to-back hundreds against South Australia. Then I thought a bit more about it and, he is so young. He has probably not even played on grounds like Optus (Perth) Stadium or The Gabba. He wouldn’t have played a pink-ball (match) at Adelaide Oval either. So, there’s a lot of things that stack up against the young guy. Although there’s no doubt that he’s got talent,” Ricky Ponting was quoted saying in the ICC Review Show.
The likes of Marcus Harris and Cameron Bancroft who have racked up big runs in the Sheffield Shield over the last few years have not had a great start to this season either. They couldn’t get substantial scores in the Australia A game against India A either.
Nathan McSweeney leads the race with dominating performance for Australia A
Thus, Ponting has singled out South Australian batter Nathan McSweeney to open the batting for the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy. The 25-year-old has been getting big runs over the last couple of seasons. He has struck five hundreds and as many fifties over the last two editions of the of Sheffield Shield.
“The only name left for me more or less is Nathan McSweeney, who is Queensland-born now playing for South Australia. He got the most out of any of those guys from the ‘A’ game in Australia at the moment. And he’s more experienced. He has captained Australia A in the past, and he’s captaining them now. So, I’m leaning towards McSweeney now for that opening role at the start of the Australian summer,” the former Australia captain added.
McSweeney captained Australia A in the recent game against India A and was the best batter on show in his side. He struck 39 in the first innings before he got an unbeaten 88 in the second essay to guide Australia A home. He averages 38.82 in first-class cricket and has played 33 matches. Even though he doesn’t open in domestic cricket, he bats at 3 and 4 but McSweeney himself has admitted that he can move up. Hence, he could well partner Usman Khawaja in that first Test against India in Perth.
