With all the focus on Steve Smith and Australia’s openers, one man enters the India series largely unquestioned.
The heavy focus on Steve Smith and Australia’s next opening batsman has masked one of the biggest questions facing the Test side ahead of the blockbuster India series, according to Channel 7 commentator Aaron Finch.
Smith is moving back into the middle order following his ill-fated stint at the top with Nathan McSweeney named to debut as Usman Khawaja’s opening partner.
But Smith is not the only incumbent with something to prove after No.3 Marnus Labuschagne averaged just 27 last summer, dismissed for single figures in seven of his 14 innings.
The Queensland captain enjoyed a positive start to the Sheffield Shield season with a first-innings 77 and 35 not out on the final day of a draw against Western Australia.
A leaner run in all formats over the past month has reignited concern around Labuschagne’s form.
“They’re all getting starts, which is the unusual thing about it. You think back for Steve Smith, once he gets to 20 just pencil him in to get 80-plus,” former Test opener Finch said on the Willow Talk podcast.
“Marnus batting at No.3, and shuffling around in (English) county cricket, where he’s been up the top of the order saying I’m here to do the job if I need it, there is a lot of pressure on that middle order.
“For a while now the likes of Travis Head, Mitch Marsh and Alex Carey have been getting them out of a little bit of trouble at times.
“I think Marnus in particular, there’ll be some extra pressure on this one and just another part in his whole career.
“You look back, there was often talk about Marnus gets dropped a lot and he goes on and cashes in, where as now he’s nicking them now or they’re taking half chances that they haven’t taken for a while.
“This is a big summer, no doubt. The level between Shield cricket and Test cricket is great but he dominates domestic cricket, so that shows that he is the best player for Australia to have batting at No.3.
“I’ve got no doubt that he’ll turn it around. He works too hard, he tinkers constantly with his game, and maybe it’s time just to say ‘right, this is your summer and really to take it upon yourself to be that man at No.3’.”
Labuschagne was called into action early more often than not last summer while Smith, and his No.4 replacement Cameron Green, regularly followed soon after.
McSweeney’s call-up promises a change for the better — if his game translates to the Test level.
The 25-year-old is not a full-time opener but has faced up to the new ball regularly for South Australia.
McSweeney won the race to become Australia’s next opener. Credit: AAP
“We’re going to have to play a different style now because McSweeney’s not going to be someone who’s going to take the game on in the first half an hour and put teams on the back foot,” ex-Australian wicketkeeper Brad Haddin said.
“But what he can do is he can grind out that new ball. He can make guys like Jasprit Bumrah and Muhammad Siraj come back for their third and fourth spell and make it easier for that powerful middle order.”
Finch expects McSweeney to be “rock solid with his mental application” even if attempt to sway him into a more attacking approach.
“There will be times when you nick off early on. Having the courage to go back and stick to what you know is really important,” he said.
“He’s not going to blaze away in the first half an hour. If that lightens the load on Steve Smith (because) he (McSweeney) gets through an hour, gets through two hours, gets through three hours — Steve Smith walking in and the ball’s 35 overs old compared to eight overs old, that is a different game altogether.
“I think you take that into account as well. I like the selection.”
