Australia have made a notable change in their squad for the final two Tests of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against India. Young opener Sam Konstas has replaced Nathan McSweeney in the squad and is also likely to open in the Boxing Day Test.
The changes in the squad by George Bailey and his selection panel have drawn some reactions in Australian cricket. Former Australian cricketers Mark Waugh and Michael Hussey recently opened up on the selectors’ decision to drop Nathan McSweeney after the first three Tests in favor of Sam Konstas.
While Waugh claimed that Australia wants to win the series at any cost, Hussey called it unfortunate to drop Nathan McSweeney after a tough outing against a world-class bowler like Jasprit Bumrah.
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Mark Waugh predicts Sam Konstas to open in the Boxing Day Test
While speaking to Fox Cricket, Mark Waugh predicted Sam Konstas to make his Test debut open the batting alongside Usman Khawaja at the MCG. Waugh spoke about the need to be positive at the top since senior batters like Khawaja and Labuschagne are struggling.
“He’ll (Sam Konstas) open, I reckon he’s a certainty to open. I think they’ve selected him with the thought process that they need a bit more positive stroke play at the top of the order, particularly with Usman (Khawaja) and Marnus (Labuschagne) struggling slightly,” Waugh said.
“Nathan McSweeney wasn’t scoring either. So I think the young, more aggressive player will play for sure. I mean, you couldn’t really drop one of the more experienced players, so it’s probably Nathan McSweeney just through the process of elimination, actually,” he added.
Sam Konstas is in good form with the bat. He struck a hundred recently in the pink-ball warm-up against India. Sam Konstas has claimed that he is confident enough to face the Indian bowlers at MCG.
“They’re not worrying about the future” – Mark Waugh on Australia’s selectors
Further speaking on the mindset of the selectors, Mark Waugh feels that the squad has been selected given the importance of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and not for the future. It is the reason Nathan why McSweeney was dropped after just three Tests.
“I think they’ve picked the team to win these last two Test matches. They’re not worrying about the future as much. You always keep an eye on the future, but this is a huge series and you’ve got the World Test Championship, that carrot dangling away as well,” Waugh noted.
“So I think the selectors, they’re thinking about the MCG Test and the SCG Test. What’s our best team to win those two Test matches?” he argued.
“It is a tough call” – Michael Hussey on dropping Nathan McSweeney
On the other hand, Michael Hussey felt otherwise and claimed that it was unfair on Nathan McSweeney to be dropped after just three Tests. Hussey called it an uneasy place for the openers and also added that facing Jasprit Bumrah isn’t an easy job.
“I mean, it’s exciting for Sam Konstas. Great opportunity for him, but it is a tough call because it hasn’t been easy for the opening batters from either team. It’s not going to be that easy just to come out and be really aggressive against someone like (Jasprit) Bumrah on pitches that have got plenty in it,” Hussey noted.
“I mean, you can look at it both ways. The top order, yes, they haven’t been scoring, but they’ve been chewing up a bit of time to allow guys like Travis Head and Alex Carey to come in and play their natural game,” he reckoned.
The five-match Test series is currently level 1-1 with two more Tests to go. IND vs AUS final two Tests of the series will be played in Melbourne and Sydney respectively. The fourth Test at Melbourne will be a Boxing Day Test.
India won the first match of the series in Perth while Australia came back hard to take the second Test in Adelaide. Jasprit Bumrah and KL Rahul have been the best performers for the visitors so far with excellent outings with ball and bat respectively.
India needs to win both matches in order to confirm their qualification for the World Test Championship (WTC) final next year. A defeat in any of these matches can end their chances of reaching there.