Nathan McSweeney, Australia’s first-choice opener, was left out of the squad for the final two Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test matches, which was a significant shift.
The Gabba Test finished in a draw, tying the Border-Gavaskar Trophy at one. Following this, the two teams will play the Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). Sam Konstas, 19, was chosen by the selectors to take McSweeney’s position in the squad for the final two Test matches.
Despite his impressive warm-up games, McSweeney’s results in the current series have fallen short of expectations. The Queensland batsman is only averaging 14.40 runs and was only able to score 72 runs in the three games. Former Australian captain Michael Clarke disagrees with this choice, believing that the team must look to the future and that he needed more time in the top order, even though this looks like a valid cause to remove him from the squad.
Nathan McSweeney is no longer employed. That’s unbelievable. They had to offer them the series regardless of who they chose for that open spot. I believe the selectors have made a mistake. Among us is 38-year-old Usman Khawaja, who has not run.
Michael Clarke stated on the Beyond 23 Cricket podcast, “He’s a senior player.”
Marnus Labuschagne, who was under pressure prior to the series, has scored one respectable goal. Despite being under pressure, Steve Smith batted brilliantly to reach a hard-fought century. Everyone is older than thirty, with several being in their high thirties, with the exception of McSweeney. If Usman Khawaja retires during two Test matches, what would happen? After that, does McSweeney rejoin the queue or does he move to the back? “They must publicly acknowledge that they made a mistake in selecting him,” he continued.