Brisbane, Dec 22 Australia batter Nathan McSweeney, who was dropped from the Test side after playing three games in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy series against India, bounced back to form with a scintillating 78-run innings to help Brisbane Heat register a thrilling last-ball win against the Adelaide Strikers in the Big Bash League (BBL) on Sunday.
The 25-year-old right-handed batter went on to reveal the advice bestowed upon him by Marnus Labuschagne, a mainstay in the Aussie side.
“It's always nice to bounce back. I loved my time on the Australian Cricket team. You know sharing the changing room with some of Australia's best players was awesome. And yeah hopefully I can continue to get better and learn from my experiences and get back there," he said after the match.
“Marnus (Labuschagne) in particular, just said it's not where it starts, it's where it ends. I think a good story always has its ups and downs and hopefully mine can. When I finish and I'm all done, I can look back on this and it was a great learning curve," McSweeney, who claimed the Player of the Match award, added.
McSweeney’s omission follows a string of underwhelming performances since his debut last month, where he failed to surpass 10 runs in five out of six innings. While the 25-year-old showed promise, his inability to adapt to the challenges of opening at the Test level, particularly against the moving ball, proved costly.
McSweeney will be replaced by teenage Sam Konstas, who has made a blazing start to his first full summer in senior career cricket after starring at the U-19 World Cup in South Africa early this year.
The 19-year-old Konstas could become the second-youngest player and the youngest specialist batter to debut for Australia since former captain Ian Craig when he played against South Africa at the MCG in 1953 aged 17 years 239 days.
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