Australia has excluded opener Nathan McSweeney for the rest of the Border-Gavaskar Test series. McSweeney, who made his debut in the series opener in Perth, has recorded scores of 10, 0, 39, 10*, 9, and 4 across the three Tests played thus far. He paves the way for 19-year-old Sam Konstas, the opener from New South Wales. Konstas was considered for the position left open by David Warner before the series, but management chose to begin with McSweeney instead.
Konstas will enter the dressing room following his unbeaten score of 73 against India A last month, along with a 107 in the pink-ball practice match for the Prime Minister’s XI. He subsequently scored 88 for New South Wales versus Western Australia in the Sheffield Shield earlier this month, along with a quick 56 off 27 balls for Sydney Thunder in the Big Bash League only three days ago.
“Sam receives his first call-up to the Test team.” “His batting style presents a unique aspect, and we are excited to see how his game progresses,” stated George Bailey, Chair of Selectors.
“We are still assured that Nathan possesses the skills and demeanor to excel at Test level in the future.” Excluding him from consideration was a tough choice. It has undoubtedly been a struggle for batters at the top of the order during the series, and we aim to offer an alternative lineup for the next two games,” Bailey remarked.
With Josh Hazlewood unavailable, Australia has recalled fast bowler Sean Abbott along with Beau Webster. Jhye Richardson has also been included in the squad.
When Josh Hazlewood isn’t available, Jhye offers more quick bowling alternatives. His excellent return over the first several days of the domestic summer has been encouraging.
