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Nathan McSweeney is presented with his baggy green by former Australia batter and coach Darren Lehmann. The 25-year-old earns Australia Test cap #467.
Nathan McSweeney was the winner of the Great Australian Bat Off as the reigning World Test champions search for an opener to replace David Warner (and Steve Smith), especially with Cameron Green sidelined for the summer with a back injury.
India have many more selection concerns with captain Rohit Sharma yet to arrive in Australia for personal reasons, Mohammed Shami still recovering from injury and Shubman Gill under a cloud after taking a blow to the thumb.
But India were in an ever greater predicament three years ago, as Geoff Lemon reminds us:
“India became the subcontinent team that figured out how to win in Australia, taking down the first-choice home bowling attack both times in the process. Then last year, when hosting was reversed, Australia got swatted in Nagpur and Delhi to let India keep a grip on the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.”
Preamble
Martin Pegan
Hello and welcome to live coverage of the first day of the first Test between Australia and India. The first five-Test series between the pair of powerhouses since 1991-92 has all the hallmarks of being a rip snorter with established stars and emerging talents on both sides set to lock horns as the tourists seek to maintain their firm grip on the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
While India have won the past four series – twice in Australia and as many times on home soil – they arrive this time under even more pressure than usual after a shock series defeat to New Zealand and with several players from their first-choice XI missing this opening Test in Perth. Australia’s lineup is more familiar but a debutant at the top of the order in Nathan McSweeney is sure to get the heart racing on the bouncy deck at Optus Stadium.
First ball will be at 10:20am local time / 1:20pm AEDT. I’ll be seeing us through to the toss, when Geoff Lemon will take the reins. The forecast in Perth is a bit cooler than usual for this time of year with a maximum of 23 while there is a bit of cloud and light wind around, making the toss a curious call for Pat Cummins and Jasprit Bumrah.
Get in touch with any comments, questions, thoughts and predictions – you can shoot me an email or find me @martinpegan on Bluesky or X. Let’s get into it!
