McSweeney eyes redemption after Test recall for Sri Lanka tour
Nathan McSweeney has earned a recall into the squad for the Sri Lanka tour after being dropped in the middle of the series against India.
Nathan McSweeney received a much-welcomed call back when Australia announced their squad for the upcoming two-match series against Sri Lanka.
McSweeney has experienced a rollercoaster over the past couple of months. After earning his maiden international call-up for the Border-Gavaskar series against India, the 25-year-old made his debut in the opening game against India.
However, his initial outings were underwhelming as he managed just 39 runs across the first three Tests, leading to his omission from the squad for the last two matches in favour of Sam Konstas.
Now back in the squad, McSweeney is eager to put his learnings to the test if selected in Sri Lanka. “Obviously, it was nice after a chaotic couple of months. It was a bit of nicer call than the last one,” McSweeney said.
"I will take heaps of learning from my experiences in my first three Tests and hopefully learn from that if I get the opportunity to play over there I play really well."
Having contented with the fiery pace of Indian bowlers in his initial international outings, McSweeney now faces a different challenge – trial by spin on the turning tracks of Sri Lanka.
The young batter is well prepared for the task ahead, thanks to a previous stint at the MRF Academy in India.
“It's a great challenge no doubt, but one I have planned for and will be ready for no doubt," he added. "Playing spin in Australia has to be very different to playing spin over in Sri Lanka.”
“ I've worked out a method in Australia that has worked for me in my Shield career but will definitely have to work out a new one to be a good player over there.”
Australia have been forced to make a few changes for the Sri Lanka tour, with skipper Pat Cummins and senior pacer Josh Hazlewood were ruled out with injuries.
In Cummins’ absence, the captaincy has been handed over to Steve Smith.
Despite already securing a spot in the World Test Championship Final after their 3-1 series win against India, Australia’s Chairman of Selectors George Bailey emphasised that the series remains of significant importance.
“I know there's been a lot of speculation around that [WTC qualification], but we view every Test tour and Test match as being really important," Bailey said. "So for us, it was more around structuring up two or three different ways of what we thought the first XI may look like.”
Bailey was alsois excited about young players gaining valuable experience and fast-tracking their development by playing in sub-continental.
For players like McSweeney and Sam Konstas, it will be their first experience of playing in the sub-continent while Cooper Connoly could make his Test debut away from home. Off-spinner Todd Murphy also returns to the fold, bringing with him the confidence of a successful debut series in the sub-continent during the 2023 tour of India.
Expressing confidence in the youngsters, Bailey praised Konstas who took Test cricket by storm on debut with an aggressive 60 off 65 balls against India.
“What we have seen is he's a quick learner, absorbs a lot of information," Bailey said. "So [we are] expecting him to get a lot out of it.”
“We'll learn a bit more about his game in different conditions to what he's just faced in Australia.”
According to Bailey, the selectors were encouraged by the temperament shown by Cooper Connolly.
Bailey was equally impressed by Cooper Connolly, who captained the Australian U19 team at the ICC U19 World Cup in 2022 and was also part of the squad in the 2020 edition.
“Technically, we like it. Temperament, we like. Character, we like. Clearly, skill set, there's a lot to like there as well.”
"On the first-class front, there's not a great deal of games behind him, but he is one that's been around that one-day group. We have in the past used that as a stepping stone at different times to see a player a bit more, find out a bit more about the way they play.”
“ He was obviously the beneficiary of that. He's someone that we've had our eye on for a period of time."
Australia’s tour of Sri Lanka kicks off with the Test series on 29 January, followed by a one-off ODI on 13 February.