The 25-year-old will make his debut against India in the first Test in Perth starting next Friday. McSweeney, the South Australian captain and Khawaja’s former Queensland teammate, will be in uncharted territory as he bats at No.3 for his state. Steven Smith will return to his preferred number 4 after a brief audition to replace the retiring David Warner last summer.
Warner scored 70.76 in 143 first-class matches, while McSweeney’s strike rate, more measured, is 41.92 in 34 first-class matches. Khawaja scores slightly faster than McSweeney but laughed at the suggestion that Australia’s Test fortunes would be ruined by a lower scoring rate against the new ball.
“I don’t know where this myth started that you need someone to score very quickly to do well,” Khawaja said Wednesday. “You have five days to do it… I don’t know why you need to score quickly.
“Opening is as much about scoring runs as it is about being able to absorb. Davey was special; he could score runs while absorbing, but he didn’t.” [score fast] every time. It was consistent; out there and establishing a platform, and Nathan does that very well.”
McSweeney, once a No. 6, had yet to cement his place in Queensland when he left for Adelaide in search of what he thought would be bigger opportunities in 2021. He has flourished since then and relished the responsibility of captaincy, Khawaja He joked that a haircut to eliminate the “boofy curls” had also helped his cause.
Comments have focused on McSweeney’s task of adapting to the new role at the top of the order. But Khawaja, a former No. 3, said he shouldn’t think about it too much.
“There are no guarantees in cricket… but he doesn’t have to do anything different,” Khawaja said. “He just repeats the process. He has been able to handle the pressure at Shield level. When you look at his demeanor, the way he plays, you feel that over a longer period of time he will be able to handle the scrutiny and pressure of Test cricket.” .
Khawaja on Wednesday detailed his plans to annually link his Usman Khawaja Foundation with the Gabba Test, which this year will be the third in the series starting December 14. Its purpose is to help refugee, immigrant, indigenous, rural, remote and low-income youth. socio-economic environments through cricket and educational programmes.
“We have the pink test in Sydney,” Khawaja said of the McGrath Foundation’s outstanding fundraising. “We are trying to get the Usman Khawaja Foundation to be part of the Gabba Test. He didn’t speak English. [when arriving in Australia from Pakistan as a child]…cricket broke barriers for me. “I never felt isolated when I played sports.”
