Veteran duo Cameron Bancroft and Marcus Harris are set to get the nod to open for Australia A against their Indian rivals in Mackay in a sign that one of them is in the box seat to nab the vacant spot in the Test team.
Teenage rising star Sam Konstas may be forced to bat at No.4 with Australia A captain Nathan McSweeney, also in contention for a Test spot, locked in to bat at first drop.
If he misses out on an opening spot in Mackay, Konstas will get a go at the top of the order in the second four-day A game at the MCG next week.
Australian coach Andrew McDonald said the selection panel would wait until both matches before settling on who will partner Usman Khawaja as opener against India in Perth next month after Steve Smith’s shift back to the middle order.
Former Australian Test spinner Steve O’Keefe believes Bancroft or Harris could be productive players in their 30s like Chris Rogers and Adam Voges last decade but told SEN Radio it’s time for fresh blood in the ageing team.
“Marcus Harris and Cameron Bancroft know their game inside out, they’ve scored runs all around the country and all around the world,” he said.
“But my money if I was a betting man would be on McSweeney. I think he possesses all the talent that Australian cricket is looking for at the moment.
“He’s the captain of his state side, he’s young, he’s in his mid-20s, he captains the Heat in T20 cricket. He scored a one-day hundred last week and he went 50 then 100 in the first Shield game, he’s scoring tonnes of runs.
“He controlled Nathan Lyon and and Tanveer Sangha (for SA v NSW in Shield) and India are going to come over and be really spin-heavy. Bowling against him personally, he took the mickey out of me.
“I think even though he’s a number three, we’ve seen it happen before with the Australian team, three and opening are very similar. Simon Katich stepped up from three and opened, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see McSweeney open the batting for Australia in the first Test.”
McSweeney has scored 291 Sheffield Shield runs in his previous four innings, including an unbeaten 127 against NSW, and made 137 from 131 balls in the One-Day Cup clash against Queensland in what former Australian coach Darren Lehmann referred to in commentary as “one of the best one-day innings we have seen”.
McSweeney, who mostly bats at No.3, said he had not opened in List A or Shield cricket but would be prepared to do so in Test cricket.
“Batting at No.3 your preparation is similar,” he said.
“All my prep is with the new ball, and sometimes you are in on the second ball of the game.
“As a kid it was a dream to get a baggy green and I will bat wherever.
“I have been lucky enough to get picked for Australia A again, which is a great opportunity for me to test my game.
“I feel like my game keeps progressing, which is a pleasing thing and hopefully I can continue do that.”
with AAP
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