Australia batter Nathan McSweeney made his debut for the national team in red-ball cricket with the match against India at the Optus Stadium in Perth.
However, he wasn’t really able to make his mark or cement his place as the opener of the team following a disappointing performance with the bat which included scores of 10 and 0 in the first and second innings respectively.
In both the innings, McSweeney ended up losing his wicket to Indian pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah, who dismissed him with a leg-before wicket on both occasions.
Following the first Test, Australia great Greg Chappell drew a brutal comparison between McSweeney and 22-year-old Yashasvi Jaiswal and shamed the Australian batter for making his Test debut at the age of 25. While on one hand, McSweeney failed to deliver for the Aussies in both the innings, on the other Jaiswal scored a remarkable century to carry his side to a humongous second inning total.
Chappell also presented numbers to compare Jaiswal with the debutant McSweeney, who hasn’t yet played much despite being older than Jaiswal.
“A comparison with Australia’s Nathan McSweeney is illuminating. At 22, Jaiswal has played 14 Tests, 30 first-class matches, 32 List A games, and 53 IPL matches. By contrast, McSweeney, at 25, has just made his debut Test, with just 34 first-class, 22 List A, and 18 T20 matches under his belt.” Chappell wrote in a column for the Sydney Morning Herald.
The former Australia cricketer also showered praise on Jaiswal, who he believes is poised to inherit Virat Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar’s excellence in the coming future.
“The young opener is fearless and appears poised to inherit the mantle of Indian batting excellence, following the likes of Virat Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar,” Chappell wrote.
