Mcsweeney Eyes Redemption After Test Recall For Sri Lanka Tour

Nathan McSweeney received a much-welcomed call back when Australia announced their squad for the upcoming two-match series against Sri Lanka.

McSweeney has experienced a rollercoaster over the past couple of months. After earning his maiden international call-up for the Border-Gavaskar series against India, the 25-year-old made his debut in the opening game against India.

However, his initial outings were underwhelming as he managed just 39 runs across the first three Tests, leading to his omission from the squad for the last two matches in favour of Sam Konstas.

Now back in the squad, McSweeney is eager to put his learnings to the test if selected in Sri Lanka. “Obviously, it was nice after a chaotic couple of months. It was a bit of nicer call than the last one,” McSweeney said in a press release.

"I will take heaps of learning from my experiences in my first three Tests and hopefully learn from that if I get the opportunity to play over there I play really well." He added.

Having contented with the fiery pace of Indian bowlers in his initial international outings, McSweeney now faces a different challenge – trial by spin on the turning tracks of Sri Lanka.

The young batter is well prepared for the task ahead, thanks to a previous stint at the MRF Academy in India.

“It's a great challenge no doubt, but one I have planned for and will be ready for no doubt," he added. "Playing spin in Australia has to be very different to playing spin over in Sri Lanka.”

“ I've worked out a method in Australia that has worked for me in my Shield career but will definitely have to work out a new one to be a good player over there.”

Australia have been forced to make a few changes for the Sri Lanka tour, with skipper Pat Cummins and senior pacer Josh Hazlewood were ruled out with injuries.

In Cummins’ absence, the captaincy has been handed over to Steve Smith.

Despite already securing a spot in the World Test Championship Final after their 3-1 series win against India, Australia’s Chairman of Selectors George Bailey emphasised that the series remains of significant importance.

“I know there's been a lot of speculation around that [WTC qualification], but we view every Test tour and Test match as being really important," Bailey said. "So for us, it was more around structuring up two or three different ways of what we thought the first XI may look like.”

Australia’s tour of Sri Lanka kicks off with the Test series on 29 January, followed by a one-off ODI on 13 February.