Former Australian opener Matthew Hayden said that the national team selectors backed themselves into a corner following their decision to pick a non-specialist opening batsman for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Australia was in search of an opening batsman after Steve Smith was restored in the middle order. Options were available in the form of Sam Konastas, Marcus Harris and Cameron Bancroft, but the selectors decided to hand young his Test debut alongside Usman Khawaja.
Nathan McSweeney who usually bats at number three will surround himself with a new environment when he walks into Perth to open the innings with Usman Khawaja. Before speaking about McSweeney's selection, Matthew Hayden opened up about Steve Smith's promotion to the opening slot. After David Warner's retirement, Steve Smith took the opener's responsibility on his shoulders.
In his opening stint which did not last for much time, the right-hander accumulated 171 runs with a strike rate of 28.50, making it much more of a forgettable run. "This is exactly my point and why I disagreed with Steve Smith opening the batting.
It wasn't a slight on Steve Smith's career. It was more of a plea and call to action around the [domestic] system itself," Matthew Hayden said, as quoted from The Sydney Morning Herald. With McSweeney entering the fray, at least for the series opener, Hayden was quick to point out the lack of first-class cricket.
"Now the Australian selectors have done exactly what I thought was going to happen, an.