Australia came up with two late selection surprises as the selectors, on Sunday, revealed the 13-member squad for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series opener against India with the inclusion of two uncapped players in Nathan McSweeney and Josh Inglis.
The South Australian earned the edge over fellow specialist openers in Marcus Harris, Cameron Bancroft and Sam Konstas following his consistent run in the Sheffield Shield over the past few years, with chief selector George Bailey confirming that he will partner Usman Khawaja in the opening role at Perth Stadium later this month.
McSweeney, who is all set to become Australia’s 467th men’s Test cricketer, never opened in first-class cricket until the series against India A earlier this month. After scoring 39 and 88 not out at batting at No. 4 in the first match in Mackay, the selectors promoted him up the order for the MCG game, and he did not disappoint. Despite scores of 14 and 47, he looked much in control against the new ball and impressed the selectors enough to bag the role for the Perth game despite Harris’ knock of 74.
Inglis, who will lead Australia in the third ODI against Pakistan on Sunday in Perth, also stands on the verge of making a debut in Perth and forced his way into the selection reckoning after stunning centuries in each of the Sheffield Shield matches he played this season. It was although a surprising selection from Bailey and his team given that Australia have a tradition of picking more back-up bowlers than adding a reserve batter to the squad for a home Test.
“Nathan has displayed the attributes we believe will equip him well for Test cricket along with a strong recent record in domestic cricket,” Bailey said.
“His performances for South Australia and Australia A weighed in his favour and supports our view he is ready for the opportunity at Test level.
“Similarly, Josh has been in great touch in the Sheffield Shield competition and deserves his place in his first Test squad.
“Scott has been a top-level performer when given the opportunity at Test level and remains a valued member of the squad.
“The squad is balanced and provides Andrew and Pat the options required for what shapes as a captivating series.”
No Cameron Green
The all-rounder is the only player from Australia’s recent Test playing XI to miss out after undergoing lower spine surgery, which is likely to leave him out of action for at least six months.
Australia squad: Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey (wk), Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitch Marsh, Nathan McSweeney, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc (first Test only)
India squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Jasprit Bumrah (vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna, Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar. Reserves: Mukesh Kumar, Navdeep Saini, Khaleel Ahmed
