Nathan McSweeney is likely to don the role of opener for Australia in the Border Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024/25 against India. The five-match series between both teams will kickstart on November 22 and run until January 7 next year.
The development comes as skipper McSweeney is set to be opening for Australia A in their second four-day fixture against India A, starting Thursday. The first game saw the 25-year-old playing at No. 4 and remaining unbeaten on 88* in the second innings to take the side home by seven wickets.
McSweeney has never opened in first-class cricket and will partner Marcus Harris, who is also a potential contender for the senior team. While, players like Sam Konstas and Cameron Bancroft, who will bat at No. 3 and No. 4, respectively also stand a chance, provided they return with impressive performances. One of the four players could be pairing up with Travis Head in the much-anticipated series against India.
Here’s what chair of selectors George Bailey told reporters (via ESPNcricinfo):
“We will use the opportunity this week to gather our final information before the announcement of the Test squad for the Border-Gavaskar Series following the Australia A match.”
Interestingly, McSweeney has not featured in a first-class game at Optus Stadium in Perth and SCG, which will serve as host in the series. Nevertheless, he has experience of playing four BBL games across both venues. Meanwhile, the upcoming fixture against India A will only be his second first-class appearance in MCG, with the first one coming in 2019.
Although, Nathan McSweeney doesn’t hold much experience in these grounds, he seems to be a potential candidate for an opening slot. On the other hand, Harris has an experience of 168 first-class games and has scored over 11,000 runs. He also has 14 Test appearances for the Australian team.
Australian pacer Josh Hazlewood feels India will be under pressure ahead of BGT
The veteran Australian pacer, Josh Hazlewood thinks India’s 3-0 loss to New Zealand would bring their confidence down ahead of BGT 2024/25. As per Hazlewood, a few batters who will be playing in Australia for the first time, will be unsure of what’s coming towards them.
“It is obviously better them losing 3-0 than winning 3-0, easily. The confidence might have taken a bit of a hit. A lot of them have been out here , but there are few batters who have not, so they will be a bit unsure of what to expect. I do not think you can read too much into it. The results are obviously good for us in a way,” Hazlewood told the Sydney Morning Herald.
Hazlewood recently played for the New South Wales in Sheffield Shield, in his bid to prepare for the crucial India series. The series is significant for Australia, as they haven’t secured a bilateral test series victory against India since 2014/15. Moreover, both teams are vying up for the top two spots in the World Test Championship (WTC) cycle as well.
