The key career decision which delivered McSweeney to the Australian Test team
Australia’s newest Test cricketer is a Ricky Ponting superfan who was mentored by Marnus Labuschagne, with one key decision taking his journey to stardom off cricket’s beaten track.
When the heat rises in the first Test against India in Perth, Nathan McSweeney can draw comfort from the fact he knows what it’s like to sweat in the furnace.
When you are an 18-year-old working as a builder’s labourer in Darwin, there is no escape. Constant heat is part of your life.
Scott McSweeney, father of new Test batsman Nathan, reckons a pivotal moment in his son’s development came when, after just turning 18, he decided to leave home and mum’s cooking behind and play “dry season’’ cricket in Darwin, picking up some work along the way.
“His first job in Darwin was as a builder’s labourer and he sent me a video of him putting a ceiling sheet up in the kitchen which I do all the time,’’ said Scott, who owns a plastering business.
“I really feel he grew up a lot up there and that job actually made him because he thought ‘I don’t want to do this for a living’.’’
Caboolture and Brisbane-raised, Nudgee College-educated McSweeney, will be the focus of a sporting nation in Perth when the one-time Brisbane Heat ball-boy opens the batting with his Queensland teammate Usman Khawaja against India.
Sitting behind them in the order is Marnus Labuschagne who first spotted McSweeney as an 11-year-old and unsuccessfully urged his Brisbane State High School coaches to recruit McSweeney before he went to Nudgee.
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The charm of McSweeney’s story is not that he takes your breath away but that he makes you breathe easy.
In a sport increasingly hijacked by Flash Harry’s and Fancy Dan’s this is a rare victory for an unpretentious, hardworking Steady Eddie. Just for once, flint and fibre has outscored flashiness.
If he succeeds McSweeney is seen as a future Test captain, a fact privately admitted by some members of the national selection panel who don’t say it publicly because they don’t want to put pressure on him.
It’s true that when McSweeney – who moved to South Australia four years ago – was in grade eight, Nudgee cricket coach John Stackpoole said “this kid’s the best player in the school.’’
But, for all of the high opinions which swirled around him, nothing was handed easily to the boy who idolised Ricky Ponting and used to wear a Ponting shirt around when he was in primary school.
In fact, one of the key things he learnt from Labuschagne, along with 101 theories about all things batting, was that the journey to the top of the tree can be like a game of snakes and ladders sprinkled with setbacks and surges.
“From talking to Marnus, I found out he had a similar pathway into cricket as I did,’’ McSweeney said.
“He was in and out of teams when he was younger and then all of a sudden he worked it all out and his career took off.
“I spent a lot of time with Marnus who was very open with me and helped me a lot and I will always be thankful for that.
“He made me think that playing top level cricket wasn’t too far away for me.’’
Test great Allan Border gave McSweeney a subtle, sweet compliment when he said this week “his solid technique is like one from my era’’ and it takes little imagination to picture him even further back in time.
From Bill Brown in the 1940s to Bob Simpson in the 60s, Ian Redpath in the 70s and Geoff Marsh in the 80s, Australia warmly celebrated the deeds of the no-nonsense opener who bravely resisted the new ball and often kept their bat and pad so close together that a green pea would not have got between them, never mind a cricket ball.
A Cricviz study of McSweeney commissioned by this masthead tells us that statistically speaking, he is an excellent player of spin, one of the world’s most efficient players off the back foot but his defence might still need some work.
That would be a surprise to rival Sheffield Shield players like veteran NSW captain Moises Henriques who earlier this week said “it was a great relief to our NSW side that he missed the last game against us for South Australia because we didn’t have to try and work out ways of getting him out …’’
Former international all-rounder John Davison, a key mentor and long-time friend of McSweeney’s, feels the 25-year-old is ready for the huge challenge that awaits him in Perth against India’s legendary opening bowler Jasprit Bumrah.
“I have spoken to quite a few people this week who have said he has the best forward defence in the game,’’ Davison said.
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“I think he has the technique and the temperament to do well.
“He has that edge. He is a really hard worker. I think Australian fans will really get to love him when they get to know his personality. He is such a modest guy and so well spoken.’’
The tools are there. And so is the support. And, just like Darwin, he might just find the heat brings out the best in him.
Originally published as The key career decision which delivered McSweeney to the Australian Test team
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