Wrestle for Australia’s Test opener spot a battle royale in Mackay

Australian eyes on which of four batsmen will be the last one standing in Mackay, while Indians hope fragile fast-bowling talent can handle the strain ahead of first Test.

Nathan McSweeney for Australia A. He’s one of many in the running to replace David Warner in the Test side.

You don’t have to be a hardcore wrestling fan or even a casual one to know about the Royal Rumble. It’s the WWE event where participants enter the ring one after the other in a random order and get eliminated when chucked over the ropes and out of the ring.

Well, it did feel a bit like watching a battle royale, the way it’s also often referred to, on Thursday afternoon as the potential candidates for Australia’s Test opening slot paraded out to the middle of the Great Barrier Reef Oval in Mackay. Ironically, they did so in quick succession too, as if they were indeed wrestlers walking out at 30-second intervals like they do in the Rumble.

At least based on the first innings of the first Australia A v India A contest, Nathan McSweeney was the one left standing in the ring with some of his competitors having jumped over the rope themselves, based on their shot selection.

But while this much-publicised rumble for the chance to partner Usman Khawaja in Perth was playing out, I was keeping a keener eye on the relatively less hyped audition to be India’s third seamer in that first Test come November 22. Unlike McSweeney, Sam Konstas, Marcus Harris and Cameron Bancroft though, Prasidh Krishna was if anything competing with himself. And against the reputation of having a body that breaks down under a heavy workload.

He is after all the only specialist bowler from the India Test squad currently on display in Mackay. And from how he’s gone so far, it’s quite evident why Indian head coaches, right from Ravi Shastri onwards, have been so high on getting him into the mix. The lanky 28-year-old fast bowler after all was earmarked to be India’s enforcer in the bouncier climes of Australia and South Africa a few years ago.

Both in terms of how he’s bowled and also how well he’s bowled. Krishna has used his height the way you’re supposed to on Australian pitches, by hitting the hard lengths and opening up multiple avenues of wicket-taking opportunities, like what Josh Hazlewood has done for a decade. He looked sharp and threatening with the new-ball. He remained disciplined with his line of attack and most importantly, kept up the energy and the verve in his latter spells too. Even backing it up on the second morning with similar intensity.

All very positive signs for Krishna, who’s spent a large part of his career on the physio’s bench. From lower back strains to quad injuries. So much so that Krishna was once quoted saying, “As fast bowlers, you sign up for injuries.” Despite making his first-class debut in 2015, he’s only managed 19 matches overall in his career, which includes the two Tests in South Africa earlier this year, where he struggled to get his radar right and went at 4.6 an over for just two wickets.

So, his remains a selection based more on potential than any concrete evidence to suggest guaranteed success on these pitches. And it’s a theme in some ways with the Test squad that India announced rather prematurely last week. While it does consist of a fair few superstar names, led by Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah and R Ashwin, the major talking points so far have been around the back-ups who are either inexperienced or unproven in long form cricket.

Sam Konstas’ third-ball duck in Mackay brought an end to a run of big scores in Sheffield Shield. Photo: Getty Images

It’s more a case with the bowling department, which is hit massively by the absence of Mohammed Shami, even if some reports suggest he could make it for the later part of the series. While Krishna is looked at as the tall hope, the skiddier incumbent, Akash Deep, might be ahead of him in the queue at the moment as someone touted to replicate what Shami does, albeit at a slightly slower pace. Young Harshit Rana rounds up the fast bowling unit and will land in Australia with all of 10 first-class matches to his credit. At 22, he could fit in the same way as Krishna, with his tall, muscular frame and an ability to be at the batters relentlessly. Not to forget an inherent feistiness which came to the fore in a number of star-making IPL performances this year for champions, Kolkata Knight Riders.

The irony is that four years ago, India landed on these shores with a full-strength pace attack before an incredible run of injuries forced them to tap into their net-bowling stocks, with T Natarajan famously making his Test debut at the Gabba. They’ll be carrying three reserves again on this tour with Mukesh Kumar, who finished with a five-wicket haul in Mackay, among them, alongside Navdeep Saini who made his Test debut four years ago at the SCG. Saini will know based on what transpired in 2021 that not being in the main squad doesn’t automatically mean warming the bench throughout the series.

The overall unsung nature of India’s pace selections, apart from Bumrah and Mohammad Siraj, has led to many in Australian cricket circles being convinced that India will play a second spinner, whether it’s Ashwin or Washington Sundar, in tandem with ace all-rounder, Ravindra Jadeja.

Prasidh Krishna returned figures of 3-59 for India A in Australia A’s first innings in Mackay. Photo: Getty Images

In a way that comes back to who Australia end up selecting to open the batting. For, against India, it’s not always going to simply be a case of countering Bumrah and his cohort with the new-ball and being well-set when the spinners come on. With Rohit at the helm, expect India to turn to spin quickly. And whoever it is that partners Khawaja, will have to be adept and able to counter the challenge. Like his statemate, Ajinkya Rahane, did at the MCG in 2020, using Ashwin to great effect within the first hour on a cloudy, overcast morning.

The one young Indian on show in Mackay who could have a say on changing that dynamic, is 21-year-old Nitish Kumar Reddy, a rare Indian seam-bowling all-rounder who blossomed under Pat Cummins’ leadership for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL and who finds himself as the unlikeliest member of the Test squad. He’s looked good with the ball against Australia A and will look for bigger things with the bat in the remaining innings against them.

That of course also goes for the four opening candidates for Australia who will all be desperate for a score of consequence while the battle royale to decide Khawaja’s tag-team partner continues to wage on with the entire nation watching on intently.

Historically, the winner of the Royal Rumble also wins the chance to be in the main event at Wrestlemania, as will be the case here with the one who gets the nod set to feature in the most blockbuster of Test summers we’ve had in a long time.