Australian selectors should be applauded for their ruthless call in the aggressive pursuit of a critical Border-Gavaskar Trophy triumph

The stunning decision to drop Nathan McSweeney for 19-year-old wunderkind Sam Konstas for a Test with so much riding on it proves Australian selectors are ruthless in their pursuit of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, writes BEN HORNE.

In a week where selectors have been accused of being too pally and failing to make hard decisions, George Bailey and his panel have shown their true colours.

Selectors should be applauded for their bravery in making a ruthless call in the aggressive pursuit of a critical Border-Gavaskar Trophy triumph at the MCG.

The contrast between the criticisms levelled at selectors for being too close to the playing group to make the tough calls and the stunning decision to drop Nathan McSweeney for 19-year-old wunderkind Sam Konstas for a Test with so much riding on it could not have been greater.

You can almost hear the selectors saying, ‘is this big enough for you?’

Chairman of selectors George Bailey. Picture: William West/AFP

McSweeney, for all his potential, was stuck in the mud.

Jasprit Bumrah – arguably the greatest fast bowler to grace these shores – has monstered McSweeney in the first three Tests and is going absolutely nowhere.

Five Test series are brutal, especially when Australia is so desperate to avoid a third straight defeat to India on home soil.

If Australia was on top in the series against a weaker opponent they would have given McSweeney more time, but this is not the case here. It’s virtually do or die now.

It would not surprise to see McSweeney back later this year for the overseas tours, perhaps in a more accustomed role down the order.

Will Konstas fair any better against Bumrah? Or Josh Inglis for that matter, should the West Australian find his way into the top six for Boxing Day?

Jasprit Bumrah has terrorised Nathan McSweeney. Picture: David Gray/AFP

The proof will be in the pudding, but it’s an aggressive piece of selecting because it says Australia is throwing everything at this result at the MCG and not sitting back and hoping the same plan produces a different result against a wizard of his craft.

Going back on the decision to elevate McSweeney to open the batting for Australia just three Tests after his debut also shows the selectors are not too proud.

Former Test opener Ed Cowan delivered a scathing assessment of the decision-making behind McSweeney’s selection in Perth and in many ways he has been vindicated by this decision.

Cowan’s description of the selection being ‘guesswork’ might do a disservice to the gut feel it takes to be a selector when the averages in Sheffield Shield cricket are not blowing anyone’s socks off – but his reservations about whether McSweeney had the technique to survive as an opener in Test cricket have been proven correct.

But rather than bed down and pray for the best, selectors have had the courage to admit that selection hasn’t turned out as planned and they’ve backed in the 19-year-old kid for a potential debut on the biggest stage imaginable – in front of a sold out crowd of 100,000 at the MCG on Boxing Day.

Wow.

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – DECEMBER 09: Sam Konstas of the Blues fields during the Sheffield Shield match between New South Wales and Western Australia at Sydney Cricket Ground, on December 09, 2024, in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images)

The fact they’re not looking to protect Konstas from the pressure of such an occasion is massive show of faith in the prodigiously talented teenager from NSW.

Teammates might be shocked that McSweeney is gone, but there is also confidence to be taken from this show of faith in the first teenager picked for Australia since Ashton Agar and Pat Cummins.

India were brave in Perth in picking young gun all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy, and he has delivered as one of the players of the series so far.

Big series doesn’t mean you can’t pick debutants if you have the right star ready to shine.

India were also bold enough to make three changes after destroying Australia in the first Test.

You don’t necessarily have to be conservative even if you win, and Australia makes this change despite the fact it is coming off a resounding win in Adelaide and a strong performance in Brisbane that would have delivered another victory had rain not intervened.

It was always looming as a matter of when not if Konstas stormed into the Test team.

There’s so much at stake in a Test where a win is everything. Why not now?