Ashes audition: Nathan McSweeney strengthens his case for Australia opening slot

Australia’s Test opening position is turning into a game of musical chairs, with several candidates vying for a slot ahead of the Ashes in late November at home. In the ongoing Australia-A tour of India here, the selectors have paired two of them together — Sam Konstas and Nathan McSweeney — to see how they respond against quality opposition in tough conditions.

Konstas announced himself with a century in the first match and followed it up with a patient 49 on Tuesday in the second game. His captain on this tour, McSweeney, who managed only one run in the opener, struck a fluent 74 in the second match to push his case for national selection.

The duo added an excellent 86 for the second wicket, surviving 164 deliveries against a new-ball spell from Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna and Nitish Kumar Reddy — all with India Test experience.

“There’s healthy competition, absolutely,” said Tim Paine, head coach of the visiting side, before the series.

“But it’s not a big deal for either of them. They’re here to score runs against India. The focus is simply on piling up runs and putting their names forward for Australia selection,” he added.

Paine was also quick to play down any talk of rivalry. “If you come here and do your job for Australia-A, and do it well, opportunities will come for both Nathan and Sam. But as for them battling it out internally, that’s not something we’ve talked about.”

For this series, McSweeney has been slotted at No. 3 to accommodate both Konstas and Campbell Kellaway at the top. When Kellaway fell early, McSweeney joined Konstas and quickly found the fence on either side of the wicket.

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“The pitch is playing nicely, with more pace than the last match, so you get good value for shots. The ball swung more than we expected,” McSweeney said after Australia-A finished at 350 for nine on the opening day at the BRSABV Ekana Cricket Stadium.

He was also quick to highlight the benefit of facing Test-quality opposition. “Playing ‘A’ cricket internationally gives you the chance to face quality bowlers. To go up against guys like Siraj and Krishna, who’ve played plenty of Test cricket, is exactly where you want to be. The main difference is they bowl more good balls than bad ones — they challenge your defence constantly and make scoring much harder,” McSweeney, who made his Test debut against India in 2024, said.

This is McSweeney’s first tour of India, and runs here followed by a strong start to the Sheffield Shield season could make him a genuine contender to partner Usman Khawaja in the marquee series against England. With Marnus Labuschagne, Konstas, Cameron Bancroft and Marcus Harris also circling, the stakes are high.

“Nathan’s right on the cusp,” Paine said. “If he does well here and then scores runs at the start of the Shield season, there’ll be positions up for grabs in the Test team come late November. There are a few guys in this squad and back in Australia who are in the mix. The opportunity and experience of playing Australia-A cricket is massive.”

For McSweeney, a gritty, adaptive knock in Lucknow might just be the first step in his journey from Australia-A to walking out at Optus Stadium on November 21.

Published on Sep 24, 2025