Australia have made a desperate change to their squad for the final two Tests of the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy as they have excluded Nathan McSweeney and added uncapped batter Sam Konstas.
The decision to remove McSweeney seems a harsh one but indicates how badly the hosts want to reclaim the Border-Gavaskar Trophy by winning the final two Tests at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) and the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG).
The first three Tests turned out to be a baptism of fire for McSweeney. The 25-year-old had never opened before and therefore it was always going to be a massive challenge for him to succeed against a pace attack led by Jasprit Bumrah.
McSweeney registered scores of 10, 0, 39, 10*, 9 and 4 across the first three games. He fell to Bumrah quadruple times and once to Akash Deep before the selection panel led by George Bailey sealed his fate.
Konstas, who has replaced McSweeney in the squad is likely to open alongside Usman Khawaja in the Boxing Day Test at the “G”. Konstas has played just 11 matches in the first-class circuit and amassed 718 runs at an average of 42.23, including two hundreds and three half-centuries. He got out for a duck in his last Big Bash League (BBL) game while playing for Sydney Thunder against Sydney Sixers.
However, the bigger concern for the hosts ahead of the Boxing Day Test is the injury to Josh Hazlewood. Hazlewood suffered a calf strain during the team’s warm-up session on day four in Brisbane and will not take any further part in the series.
Australia played their first Test at the MCG in March 1877 and defeated England by 45 runs. They have won their last three consecutive Tests at the MCG and coincidentally their last loss at the MCG had come against India in December 2020.
Australia have an impressive record at the MCG. They have won 67 out of their 116 Tests played at the iconic venue and suffered just 32 losses. 17 of their games at the MCG have ended in a draw.
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