Having opened in the first three matches against India, he was dropped for the final two games in favour of Sam Konstas
Nathan McSweeney has spoken of his heartbreak at being dropped from the Australia Test squad after three matches against India, and revealed trying to counter Jasprit Bumrah was a key to the selectors’ decision, but is determined to turn his mind towards pushing for a recall.
McSweeney, who had never opened before playing for Australia A against India A in the game before the squad was selected for the first Test, was axed on Friday in favour of 19-year-old Sam Konstas who is now the favourite to open on Boxing day at the MCG.
McSweeney made 72 runs in six innings in the face of challenging batting conditions but appears to have paid the price for the selectors wanting more impetus from the top order.
“Yeah, I mean devastated, I get the dream come true and then didn’t quite work the way I wanted,” McSweeney told Channel 7 as he flew back to Brisbane from Adelaide. “But it’s all part of it and I’ll get my head down and get back in the nets and work really hard and hopefully be ready to go for the next opportunity.”
While low on runs, McSweeney had been praised for his role in soaking up overs, especially the first innings under lights in Adelaide where he and Marnus Labuschagne made it through a crucial session on the first day, but his other five dismissals were between 0 and 10.
“It’s the game we’re in,” he said. “If you don’t take an opportunity and you’re not performing as well as you want to, your position’s never safe. So I missed out a few times with the bat and unfortunately wasn’t able to take my opportunity but as I said I’ll work really to make sure that if the opportunity comes round again I’m definitely ready.”
Speaking subsequently to News Corp on arrival in Brisbane, McSweeney detailed the challenges of Bumrah.
“They had seen my results against Bumrah in the first three Tests and George said they wanted to try someone else who has a slightly different skill set and that suits the batting order,” he said. “I faced some balls and spent a bit of time out there so that helped my confidence but I did not get the scores that I wanted. As everyone was saying it probably does not get much harder.”
“But learning on the go is a different challenge. In Sheffield Shield cricket you face a good bowler and you might see him again after Christmas. It’s different and unique playing a five Test series and fronting up against him a week later so you are thinking on the run a lot.”
McSweeney’s route back to Test cricket would now appear to be in the middle order although he will need to wait for a vacancy to open up. The return of Cameron Green from injury later in the year will create competition for those batting positions.
Chair of selectors George Bailey admitted it had been a difficult message to relay to McSweeney.
“[It was a] really hard decision for Nathan and one that we spent a lot of time deliberating over,” he said. “Particularly after a small sample size of three Tests… That’s never a great phone call, is it? Nathan was disappointed and really the message to him was much the same as at the start of the series, that we believe he has the ability and temperament to succeed at Test level.”
Whether McSweeney is available for Brisbane Heat on Sunday, when they face Adelaide Strikers at the Gabba in the BBL, will be confirmed later on Saturday.
