Nathan McSweeney has opened the Sheffield Shield season in fine form for South Australia and the case for him to be added to the Australian Test team is mounting.Credit: Getty Images
While Australia’s batting line-up for the marquee Test series against India is the most pressing issue for the national selectors, a look beyond Pat Cummins as to who will be the nation’s next Test captain is also on the radar.
And if there is one name doing the rounds of state cricket, it’s South Australian skipper Nathan McSweeney, even though he has yet to be awarded a baggy green cap.
The Queenslander shifted to South Australia ahead of the 2021-22 summer for greater opportunity, and has made such a good fist of it that former Bulls assistant coach Justin Sternes has no doubt McSweeney is the man the national selectors should be looking at.
Nathan McSweeney with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Pakistan skipper Shan Masood when he captained the PM’s XI last summer.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen
“He is not a huge talker, but he is one of those people that when he does open his mouth, he has something important to say, and people sit there and listen and take it on board,” Sternes said.
“He just leads by example – that’s the type of leader he is. Whether it’s off the field or on the field, he leads the way.
“Pat Cummins isn’t going to be around forever. There is a fair group that are probably going to retire within a couple of years of each other, the fast bowlers and the spinner [Nathan Lyon], and you might as well throw [Steve] Smith and Ussie [Khawaja] in there.
“It will be a bit of a changing team in the next few years, and leadership will be important. Someone like Nathan McSweeney definitely ticks that box as well.”
Darren Lehmann, the former Australia, Queensland and Brisbane Heat coach, said earlier this year McSweeney was “a future captain of international cricket”, while Redbacks coach Ryan Harris has praised McSweeney’s ability to help forge an inclusive culture.
While Cummins, 31, says he isn’t likely to step down soon, McSweeney will get another chance to show why his name keeps getting thrown up as a potential leader when he captains Australia A against India A in Mackay from Thursday and in Melbourne next week, having done so already in three games against New Zealand A.
McSweeney has made a strong start to the first-class season, with scores of 55, 127 not out, 37 and 72, building on his team-high 762 runs at 40.10 last summer, and could yet shoehorn his way into the Test XI as Usman Khawaja’s opening partner, despite batting at No.3 for the Redbacks.
Raised as a selection possibility by chief selector George Bailey, and having had his technique and mental capabilities backed by Australian coach and selector Andrew McDonald, McSweeney is also in the running to be the spare batter in the Test squad.
“All I can really control is make sure that I prepare really well for South Australia and keep trying to punch out runs and, hopefully, get us in positions to keep winning Shield games … I’ll just keep trying to do my bit,” McSweeney said.
National selection has appeared in McSweeney’s destiny since his days as first-XI skipper of St Joseph’s Nudgee College, the prominent GPS school in Brisbane, and while emerging through the ranks of district club Northern Suburbs, where his grandfather, Terry, still runs the drinks and helps to get the field ready before play.
In his adopted state, McSweeney is a popular figure at Glenelg District Cricket Club, and is seen similar in character to fellow Tiger, and Test gloveman, Alex Carey. Club president Jarret Moyse described McSweeney as a man of “quiet confidence” with great hand-eye co-ordination, noting he plays golf off a single-figure handicap, having just joined the distinguished Kooyonga Golf Club.
McSweeney is also happy to help out at a grassroots level.
“The kids love him. They look up to him … he gets along with the juniors as well. They are all over him at presentation nights when he is around,” Moyse said.
Family is important to McSweeney. When, as captain, he posted a game-winning century to help Queensland defeat NSW Metro to claim the under-17 national championships title in 2015, he immediately looked to the crowd and raised the bat to his father, Scott.
He still carries the nickname Buddha, given to him as a youngster when, because of his cherubic face and cuddly build, he was told he “looked as happy as a Buddha”.
It was with a heavy heart he left Queensland, but opportunities were limited on a deep roster, and the Bulls had only a couple of players with a Cricket Australia contract at the time.
He still remains close with the likes of Xavier Bartlett and Max Bryant, and has had Marnus Labuschagne as a batting mentor. The two became close during the COVID era, although McSweeney has yet to take on the quirks of the Australian No.3.
“If you can bat at three, you can open. He has got a good temperament. He has got the patience a top-order batter needs, and he can bat time,” Sternes said.
Test No.3 Marnus Labuschagne forged a close relationship with Nathan McSweeney and the pair were close when they played together for the Bulls.Credit: Getty
“Technically, he is very sound. He has good options on the front foot, and has a beautiful pull shot on the back foot. He plays spin really well because he has good footwork. He is just a well-rounded human, and player. That’s what everybody loves about Nathan.
“Everyone has things they need to work on, but he is definitely capable of batting at the top of the order [for Australia].”
As a leader, McSweeney stepped into the hot seat for the Heat last summer, guiding the franchise to victory in the final when Khawaja and Colin Munro were absent. This summer, under new coach Harris, the Redbacks handed McSweeney the top job.
He says he has learnt plenty from Australia A coach Adam Voges, the former Test batsman and West Australian great, and has been praised for his tactical nous. He has struck the right balance between being a firm leader, while also ensuring inclusivity, and continues to work on finding the appropriate words and actions to motivate teammates.
“Everyone’s got a different style of leadership and captaining, so I just back my strengths,” McSweeney said.
“You’re never going to get it always right, but just make sure I learn from my mistakes.”
Former England player Adam Holliake and former South Australian batsman Jon Davison have been important figures in his development, as has former English cricketer Steve Stubbings as his batting coach.
“That’s the dream growing up, you want to play for Australia. I’d like to think that I continue to get better each year, (and) in Shield cricket I’ve been able to be pretty consistent,” McSweeney said.
“I’m definitely confident in my game at the moment, and if I were to get an opportunity I think I would be ready, but all I can do is continue to focus on what I can control, and that’s preparing well for South Australia and, hopefully, winning games for my state.”
If McSweeney is selected for the blockbuster Border-Gavaskar series, Sternes said the national team has a ready-made multi-faceted cricketer.
“He is a four-dimensional cricketer because he is an outstanding fieldsman, his off-spinners are better than part-time and have been effective over the years, and, obviously, he has the batting and leadership,” Sternes said.
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