Test opening spot: Nathan McSweeney firms as favourite to open the batting as Marcus Harris to be given one last chance

After a dominant batting display in Mackay, Nathan McSweeney is in red-hot position to be handed a baggy green – but one of his biggest competitors will have another chance to make his case.

Nathan McSweeney has bolted into clear pole position as the white hot favourite to open the batting for Australia this summer.

There is still one more Australia A tour match to go before the Test squad is finalised and veteran Marcus Harris is being given every chance to make a late charge, but the 32-year-old Victorian would now need to produce something extraordinary later this week to knock McSweeney off the perch.

Not only is McSweeney the in-form option, after a matchwinning 88 not out for Australia A to defeat India A in Mackay on Sunday, but the 25-year-old is also the future-thinking selection for a team that without him would be the only Test team in history without a player aged in their 20s.

Nathan McSweeney celebrates his half century for Australia A during their chase against India A. Picture: Albert Perez/Getty Images.

Cameron Bancroft is virtually unselectable after amassing just 26 runs in six first-class innings this summer, while it seems too soon for 19-year-old Sam Konstas and he is more likely to come into contention at such time Usman Khawaja’s Test career comes to a close.

It’s understood that if McSweeney does sew up the Test call-up that is now well within his grasp, he would in all likelihood open the batting in the first Test in Perth, with Marnus Labuschagne expected to remain in the No. 3 position he has made his own.

There is strong mail McSweeney could even get a timely practice opening alongside Harris in the final Australia A match in Melbourne starting on Thursday – a move which would solidify the growing belief he is on the cusp of a stunning Test debut later this month at Optus Stadium.

McSweeney bats No. 3 for South Australia and made his matchwinning totals of 39 and 88 not out at No. 4 for Australia A, but Test captain Pat Cummins made it clear on Sunday that batsmen should not be so fixated on where they bat in the order.

“Once we kind of start discussing who’s in the side, then you start looking at batting order,” Cummins said.

“But Ronnie (coach, Andrew McDonald) and I have said it quite a bit, where you bat isn’t that important. You try and work out how the batting order as a whole is going to function best. And I don’t think anyone should be super protective around a certain spot.”

McSweeney is in the box seat at this stage and if the team was picked today he would be in.

But selectors are giving Harris every opportunity to post a counter case, and he shapes as the only other horse in what is now at best a two horse race.

McSweeney has long impressed selectors with his natural leadership skills and promise, but until this summer hadn’t quite put the numbers on the board to be a realistic Test contender.

So much of Test selection is about timing and McSweeney’s has been impeccable, with scores of 55, 127 not out, 37, 72, 39, 88 not out, plus an electric one-day hundred just at the time when the spotlight has been on him.

The Queensland-born South Australian captain said on Sunday after engineering a successful Australia A run chase under pressure that he is ready.

“I think I’m playing pretty well at the moment, I’ve played some of the best innings I’ve ever had recently,” he said.

Nathan McSweeney and Beau Webster walk off after chasing down India A’s total. Picture: Albert Perez/Getty Images.

“Hopefully I can continue to get better, and if that opportunity comes I feel like I’m ready, but if it doesn’t then I’ll continue to work hard and hope that one day I can get that call-up.”

Cummins said on Sunday he is open to the idea of Labuschagne opening the batting in the Test series against India, but it’s understood the more likely scenario is still that Labuschagne would stay put where he is at No.3.

Labuschagne does have more opening experience than McSweeney, but No. 3 is a crucial spot in Test cricket and the feeling is why move Labuschagne when he has a proven record in that position.

The difference between opening and his usual spot at No. 3 should not be an insurmountable challenge for McSweeney to overcome, given first drop batsmen can always be in facing the new ball during the first over of a match anyway.

There has also been fun poked at Labuschagne around his bowling, with the Queenslander reverting to bowling leg-spin in the nets on Saturday after bowling seam-up for his state in recent weeks.

“I have mentioned it to him a few times. Don’t forget about the leg-spin,” Cummins said.

While the five Tests against India are the summer’s main fare, the one-dayers are an important tune-up for the Aussies ahead of the Champions Trophy early next year.

Cummins said he would definitely play the first and second matches of the series but may sit out the third and final game next Sunday in Perth as he tunes up for the first Test, beginning on November 22.

Marcus Stoinis and Lance Morris, both back in the one-day squad, will be made to wait for returns to the XI.