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South Australian batter Nathan McSweeney, who has been handed a maiden national team call-up for the highly-anticipated Border-Gavaskar Trophy series against India, said that he feels that his game is ready for the Indian challenge.
Australia included uncapped batter McSweeney as the national side announced a 13-member squad for the much-awaited Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 against India for the opening Test of the five-match series in Perth. Speaking to Fox Cricket, Mcsweeney, who batted at three or four before a switch to opening, said, "I just got a text from Travis Head saying: 'I can give you my bat-pad pads' - so I will be straight under there, I would have thought." "I feel like my game is ready. It is one position earlier than I normally do; my prep is the exact same, I train with the new ball. I am just really looking forward to the experience and the opportunity," he added. The 25-year-old also remarked that he is also ready to face the first ball of the innings, noting that he has heard that opener Usman Khawaja is not the biggest fan of doing that. "I have heard that Uzzie is not the biggest fan of (facing the first ball); I faced the first ball in both innings out here (at the MCG during the second Australia A-India A match) so I am comfortable with that," said the South Australian star. The youngster also noted that how over the years, his former Queensland teammate and now Aussie mainstay Marnus Labuschagne has been a mentor and a "resource" for him. "Growing up in Queensland, the style of play at the Gabba has dictated the way I play, and probably the way he (Labuschagne) plays as well," McSweeney explained. "He is a deep thinker ... at times we probably look similar, and I like to think that I have got my own kind of way of playing; but definitely using Marnus as a resource has been very helpful for me," he concluded. Australia's selection chair George Bailey believed the squad is well-balanced and is predicting McSweeney to perform well if handed a debut. "Nathan has displayed the attributes we believe will equip him well for Test cricket along with a strong recent record in domestic cricket. His performances for South Australia and Australia A weighed in his favour and supports our view he is ready for the opportunity at Test level," Bailey said as quoted by the ICC. Australia squad for the first Test: Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitch Marsh, Nathan McSweeney, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc Series schedule:First Test: November 22-26: PerthSecond Test: December 6-10: AdelaideThird Test: December 14-18: BrisbaneFourth Test: December 26-30: MelbourneFifth Test: January 3-7: Sydney. (ANI)
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