Nathan McSweeney is back in Australia’s Test squad and Cooper Connolly will join him, after selectors left Mitch Marsh out of the touring group for Sri Lanka. Australia confirmed their 16-man group on Thursday, which will be captained by Steve Smith with Pat Cummins staying home for the birth of his second child.
McSweeney and Connolly headline the group, which also includes Todd Murphy and Matt Kuhnemann as second and third spinners alongside Nathan Lyon. Josh Hazlewood is missing as Australia prolong his return from a calf injury, while Glenn Maxwell’s Test career is seemingly over after he was left out.
Peter Handscomb has also missed out despite having a strong record against spin and stunning first-class numbers in 2024, with Josh Inglis the other back-up batter.
“Sri Lanka is a challenging and exciting place to tour given the different conditions the players may experience,” chief selector George Bailey said. “This squad provides several ways to structure the XI depending on what type of wickets they may encounter in each match.
“We are excited about the opportunity ahead for the squad members who are at the start of their Test careers to continue to grow their games in subcontinent conditions where we have a number of important tours in coming years.”
Australia’s squad means there are several ways which selectors can go for the first Test in Galle on January 29. There is every possibility they will stick with the same top seven that played in Sydney last week, with Usman Khawaja and Sam Konstas opening the batting.
But Travis Head has had previous success at the top, including on Australia’s most recent tour of India in 2023. If Head does move up it would open up a spot for Inglis, McSweeney or Connolly to come into the team.
McSweeney opened on his first foray into Test cricket this summer but was dropped for Boxing Day after scoring 72 runs at an average of 14.4 in his first three matches. His future will likely be in the middle order, given he had never previously opened in the Sheffield Shield before his Test selection this summer.
The 25-year-old has found a home batting at No.3 for South Australia this summer – averaging 97 – but has previously batted further down.
Connolly’s selection is also notable, given the 21-year-old can act as spin-bowling allrounder and is seen as one of the brightest young players in the country.
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With Cummins absent and also battling ankle soreness, Mitchell Starc, Scott Boland and Sean Abbott are the only three quicks named in the squad for Sri Lanka. There is a possibility only one of those will play in the XI, if Australia opt to play three frontline spinners in Lyon, Kuhnemann and Murphy.
Australia’s 3-1 victory in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy means they have already qualified for the World Test Championship final against South Africa at Lord’s in June.
But the Warne-Muralitharan Trophy is still on the line in the two Tests, with Australia aiming to retain their status of holding every bilateral Test trophy available to them.
Australia Test squad: Steve Smith (capt), Sean Abbott, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cooper Connolly, Travis Head (vc), Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Sam Konstas, Matt Kuhnemann, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Nathan McSweeney, Todd Murphy, Mitchell Starc, Beau Webster.