Nathan McSweeney top-scored in both innings for his side to push his Test case, as the hosts chased down India A’s total with ease

Nathan McSweeney on Sunday emerged as the big winner of the so-called ‘bat-off’ for the Test opener spot, scoring an unbeaten 88 to guide Australia A to a seven-wicket win over India A in Mackay.

After three days of missed opportunities for Test hopefuls in Mackay, McSweeney looked completely at ease as Australia A chased down the fourth-innings target of 225.

Australia are expected to pick their side for the first Test in Perth later this week, giving aspirants one more innings for Australia A in Melbourne this week.

And for now, McSweeney is the man in form.

The 25-year-old has never previously opened in first-class cricket but has averaged 97 batting at No.3 for South Australia this season.

But it is possible his inexperience as an opener may not be an issue, with Australian captain Pat Cummins suggesting Marnus Labuschagne could open on November 22 in a top-order shake up.

“Ronnie (coach Andrew McDonald) and I have said it quite a bit – where you bat isn’t that important,” Cummins said. 

“You try and work out how the batting order as a whole is going to function best. I don’t think anyone should be super protective around a certain spot on that.”

Cummins also indicated he would have no issue bringing a debutant in for the start of a big five-Test series against India.

“Whoever’s picked, they’re going to come off the back of plenty of runs at the start of the year will be well positioned,” Cummins said. 

“The reality is you try and make a debut as comfortable as you can … It’s not like they’re going to wake up one morning and suddenly be told they’re playing.” 

McSweeney’s runs came as part of a 141-run fourth-wicket stand with Beau Webster (61no), who is also making a case for a Test call up.

Webster topped the Sheffield Shield’s run-scoring charts last season and could challenge Aaron Hardie as Mitch Marsh’s back up this summer.

But the more pressing issue for Australia is at the top of the order, where McSweeney is making a firm case. 

While McSweeney top-scored in both innings in Mackay after making 39 in his first outing, Sam Konstas (0 and 16), Marcus Harris (17 and 36) and Cameron Bancroft (0 and 16) all failed to impress.

In contrast, McSweeney has now made scores of 55, 127no, 37, 72, 36 and 88no to start the summer, along with 137 against Queensland in a 50-over game last week.

He brought up his 50 in the first over of Sunday morning, clipping Nitish Kumar off his toes to the mid-wicket boundary.

The right-hander also pulled Sai Sudharsan for three boundaries late, after his soft hands meant an earlier edge off the legspinner did not carry to first slip.

Australia A’s win came on a morning of drama in Mackay, with umpires accusing India A of scratching up the ball and placing wicketkeeper Ishan Kishan on report for dissent.

NRMA Insurance Men’s Test Series v India

Australia squad: TBC

India squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Jasprit Bumrah (vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna, Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar. Reserves: Mukesh Kumar, Navdeep Saini, Khaleel Ahmed

First Test: November 22-26: Perth Stadium, 1.20pm AEDT

Second Test: December 6-10: Adelaide Oval, 3pm AEDT (D/N)

Third Test: December 14-18: The Gabba, Brisbane, 11.20am AEDT

Fourth Test: December 26-30: MCG, Melbourne, 10.30am AEDT

Fifth Test: January 3-7: SCG, Sydney, 10.30am AEDT