Australian men’s cricket coach Andrew McDonald says the four-way showdown for the vacant opening batting place is about more than just runs this week as he looks towards picking the right player for the glut of Test cricket coming over the next three years.
Australia A’s team for the match against India A in Mackay starting on Thursday includes veterans Marcus Harris and Cameron Bancroft, NSW teenager Sam Konstas and the side’s captain Nathan McSweeney, and all are in competition for the spot.
McDonald said he sees the race “hotting up today” and people have described it as a “bat off”. But the 43-year-old – who signed a contract extension to 2027 this week – said selectors are considering a range of factors.
“We’re genuine in the fact that we haven’t made a decision, and we don’t tend to make decisions until we have to, and that will be at the end of the second Australia A game [next week in Melbourne],” he said.
He said while scores over the next two weeks are important, “context” will be considered.
“If you take Sam [Konstas] for example, he’s had limited experience in Perth pink ball games, and then obviously, up at the Gabba. So there are incredible challenges for players who haven’t played in those conditions before. It’s not to say they can’t do that either, he’s a fast learner.
“And then you look at Marcus Harris, it wasn’t that long ago that he played a blinding innings out there against England, I think he got 70 runs [at the Boxing Day Test in 2021], and [in terms of] percentage of runs in that game it was hugely important.”
Australia have 13 months of Test cricket scheduled in 2026 and 2027, featuring away series against India and England.
McDonald said “a lot of our lifting of the eyes” to the future has been done over winter, although he conceded it has been hard to bring about transition in a successful Test team.
“Our mindset is always about, if you want to call it, ‘future proofing’ the team, and we’ve had opportunities in bilateral series to expose that next generation,” he said.
“Test cricket’s been slightly different, we have been really settled and almost predictable in the way that we’ve gone about it. But that’s not a bad thing when you’re performing as well those those older players, those players that have been able to perform over a period of time.”
He said selectors were aware the Australian team had suffered lulls in the past when several players stepped away at a similar time. In 2007 Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath and Justin Langer retired almost simultaneously.
Former opener David Warner retired from Tests ahead of this summer, and Steve Smith, Usman Khawaja and Nathan Lyon are all in their mid-30s.
“We’re not beholden to the past, and I think if you get the selections right on the back of players exiting, then the transition is a lot smoother,” McDonald said.
Australia A won the toss on Thursday in Mackay but elected to bowl, delaying the so-called “bat off” a little longer. The first of the five Tests against India starts in Perth on 22 November.
