NEW DELHI: Nathan McSweeney is set to make his Test debut in the opening game of the high-stakes Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Perth. Australian captain Pat Cummins has offered McSweeney words of encouragement as he prepares to face India.
McSweeney, 25, will take on the challenging role of opening the batting, a position previously held by the legendary David Warner, who retired earlier this year.
Cummins emphasized that McSweeney should embrace his natural style and not feel pressured to replicate Warner's explosive batting approach.
"Davey is very hard to replace, in many ways. I think the most important thing for someone like Nath, who is coming in, is just to play his own game. He doesn't need to strike it (at), you know, 80 like David did, if that's not his game," Cummins said.
Cummins highlighted the importance of McSweeney and Usman Khawaja, his opening partner, complementing each other's strengths. The two batters have previously shared the crease while playing for Queensland.
"So for them (McSweeney and Khawaja), I would love to see them bring the best out of each other, they have played a little bit and batted a bit together for Queensland. But yeah, I think for both of them, it's about bringing what they bring to the table," Cummins added.
Cummins believes both batters possess the ability to wear down the opposition bowlers.
"You know, for Uzzie, it's about getting the bowlers to come back and back and back again. And I think Nath is pretty similar in that regard."
Despite not being a specialist opener, McSweeney, an admirer of Ricky Ponting, has been chosen to open the batting in his debut Test, a testament to his temperament and technique.
