Former players Ricky Ponting and Ian Healy have backed Australia A captain Nathan McSweeney to take over the vacant opening slot in the national team for the marquee Border-Gavaskar Trophy against India, starting in Perth on November 22. With David Warner calling it quits earlier this year and Steve Smith set to return to the his preferred number 4 spot, Australia are in need for an opening partner for Usman Khawaja. The likes of McSweeney, Sam Konstas, Cameron Bancroft and Marcus Harris are vying for the vacant spot.
"I was put on the spot about a week ago, and I sort of immediately went to the young guy, Sam Konstas. He had come off back-to-back hundreds against South Australia," Ponting said on the 'ICC Review Show'.
"Then I thought a bit more about it and, he is so young and he has probably not even played on grounds like Optus (Perth) Stadium or at The Gabba.
"He wouldn't have played a pink-ball (match) at Adelaide Oval either. So there's a lot of things that stack up against the young guy, although there's no doubt that he's got talent." McSweeney has scored 291 runs in his previous four innings, which has included a century in the Sheffield Shield and the One-Day Cup.
"The only name left for me more or less is Nathan McSweeney, who is Queensland-born now playing for South Australia. He got the most out of any of those guys from the 'A' game in Australia at the moment." "And he's more experienced. He has captained Australia A in the past, and he's captaining them now. So, I'm leaning towards McSweeney now for that opening role at the start of the Australian summer." Currently leading Australia A, McSweeney has made a strong impression. Batting at No. 4, the 25-year-old played a steady knock in the first inning and was leading the charge in the second essay in the first unofficial Test against India A.
"I was glad people could see how Nathan McSweeney can bat yesterday, he put his shots away for the good of the situation," Healy told SEN Radio.
"I knew about him because he's come from my club and the Australian selectors know about it because he's played like that for South Australia and very well recently.
"He showed that at 25 years of age, he's the most ready of the four. The tried and tested Bancroft and Harris are a bit older and Konstas is a bit younger. He's the most suited from that performance overall," Healy added.
Ponting believed that if Australia intended to return to Bancroft and Harris -- both of whom have previous Test experience -- they would have done so after Warner's retirement. Instead, the Australian think tank experimented by sending Smith to open, a strategy that did not yield significant results.
"Another thing that I'd said then was that I don't think they'd go back to a Bancroft or Harris because if they're willing to do that they would've done it the last year," Ponting added.
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