Nathan McSweeney, Josh Inglis named in Australian Test squad

Australia’s head selector has a message for overlooked openers as a debutant was confirmed to face India in the first Test.

Australian head selector George Bailey says adjusting to open the batting “won’t be too much” for Nathan McSweeney after the South Australian captain was locked in to make his Test debut against India in Perth.

McSweeney and Josh Inglis were named in Australia’s 13-man squad for the series opener on November 22, with the former to replace Steve Smith at the top of the order.

Bailey conceded veteran specialist openers Marcus Harris and Cameron Bancroft would feel “hollow” after they were overlooked for McSweeney, but was adamant the selectors had not lost faith in the Sheffield Shield as a breeding ground for top order players.

Inglis, whose first-class career has been heavily interrupted by his white-ball duties for Australia, received the nod as the reserve batter in the squad after a blistering start to his Shield campaign.

Bailey said McSweeney’s style would “really suit Test cricket”, and was confident his experience at no. 3 for SA would prepare him for a rigorous examination against Indian new-ball duo Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj.

“I’m just really thrilled with Nathan’s game over the last 12 to 15 months. He’s on a great trajectory, (he’s a) very organised, composed player at the crease,” Bailey said on Sunday.

“I don’t think it’s a huge adjustment to go from three to opening. I think in the 15 or so games that he’s been batting at three for South Australia, he’s been in before the 10th over about 20 times.”

Bailey said the selectors’ decision did not mean they had lost faith in the Shield’s ability to prepare Test-level opening batters.

“We still value Shield cricket … it’s challenging at the top, but as I said, I don’t think the adjustment from three to opening is too much (for McSweeney),” he said.

“I think Marcus Harris is still in good touch … by not selecting a player, it doesn’t mean you don’t think they’re a good player.

“Clearly a lot has been written and said about Sam Konstas – I think he’s continuing to improve and he looks a really bright prospect for the future.”

Bailey said Tasmanian all-rounder Beau Webster had impressed him with his consistency with bat and ball to begin the season, and would enter the selection frame later in the series.

Australia A and South Australian captain Nathan McSweeney is poised to make his Test debut in Perth later this month. Picture: Darrian Traynor / Getty Images

“Josh (Inglis) is purely the spare batter for the start of the series, but we just don’t know how this series will pan out in terms of what the requirements will be,” he said.

“There’s a number of players who I think are well placed that if we need to call upon them across the summer, they’ll be ready to go.”

Victorian veteran Scott Boland was named as the reserve pace bowler in the squad, with little competition after injuries ruled out Michael Neser (hamstring) and Jordan Buckingham (side strain), and nationally contracted pair Lance Morris and Jhye Richardson yet to play a red-ball game this summer.

Marsh and Travis Head will both be available for the series opener after missing the ODI series against Pakistan due to paternity leave, with Head to play his 50th Test match.

Injured all-rounder Cameron Green was the only absentee from Australia’s last Test XI that played against New Zealand in March.

Bailey said the selection panel had been leaning towards choosing McSweeney to open before the final Australia A game at the MCG, but said they had waited to announce the squad to leave “an onus” on the India A series.

“We had an idea of which way we wanted to go. We really value Australia A cricket, and the ‘great Australian bake-off’, it certainly wasn’t that for us, but I think it’s important to put a little bit of onus on these games,” Bailey said.

“It’s important to give these games the respect they deserve, and I think it would have been disrespectful to the game to have announced this squad a week ago, when you want to play it out and get as much information as you can.”

Originally published as Nathan McSweeney, Josh Inglis named in Australian Test squad