Nathan McSweeney - The man they call 'Buddha' finds his true calling

When Nathan McSweeney made the move to Adelaide from Queensland before the start of the 2021-22 cricket summer, he was one among a slew of interstate recruits for South Australia. And it's safe to say that the then 22-year-old with only 5 first-class matches under his belt got an honourable mention at best when the contracts were announced.

From that group, Brendan Doggett, who'd been 12th man for a couple of Tests previously, was understandably talked up as being the biggest get for the struggling Redbacks (their longstanding moniker before it was done away with this year). While McSweeney was probably the most unsung of the new additions behind the likes of Western Australia's Jake Carder and NSW's Nathan McAndrew.

Only three summers on, McSweeney, now 25, is the man making headlines around the country after being named on Sunday (November 10) as the latest Test opener for Australia. The soft-spoken and stylish right-hander will partner former Queensland teammate, Usman Khawaja, in less than two weeks' time against Jasprit Bumrah and company at the Optus Stadium in Perth as Australia kick off their five-Test campaign against the touring Indians.

And it's safe to say McSweeney is solely responsible for this remarkable turnaround in his fortunes. Alongside his consistent improvement as a batter from season to season, he's also pulled off something that very few have managed to in recent years. Moving to South Australia from elsewhere to not only enhance their career but doing so to such an extent that they are able to pave a way into the Test squad for Australia.

For, when McSweeney switched states, South Australia were in an absolute rut as a team, having failed to win a single match across two Sheffield Shield seasons. And his first-class average after those initial games for Queensland was 15. But by the end of that summer, they'd brought their drought to an end with a close win against New South Wales at the Karen Rolton Oval. It also happened to be McSweeney's first major contribution for his adopted team, remaining unbeaten on 99 as he saw them home.

And it was on the back of his maiden first-class century that South Australia recorded their next win, against Tasmania in Hobart at the start of the 2022-23 season. Batting at No 4 on that occasion, McSweeney's 118 is what would set up a sizeable first-innings total. He'd added another first-class ton to his tally in the very next game against Western Australia at the Adelaide Oval, a quickfire 104 not out in the second innings to give his bowlers enough time to secure South Australia's first back-to-back wins for a long while.

The consistent run-scoring aside, there were other aspects of McSweeney's personality that were beginning to draw attention from the people that matter. His calmness at the crease, his constant improvement as a cricketer, the temperament to dig his team out of trouble regularly and his ability to bring out the best in those around him.

And by the end of that summer, McSweeney had made his way into the Australia A squad for the first time, that too as captain. He rewarded the selectors with half-centuries in both innings against New Zealand A in Lincoln. The 'A' captaincy was his to keep now.

By the time, the 2023-24 season came along, he was also being looked at as a leader within the South Australian setup. And he'd kick it off with another vital second-innings ton against New South Wales, resulting in another win at the Adelaide Oval. A few weeks later, his fourth Shield ton would give South Australia their first win at the Gabba in over a decade.

Interestingly, it was only earlier this year at the back-end of the previous summer that McSweeney moved up a place to No 3 in the batting order, taking 5 innings into his new role to make his first century in that position, which as per the norm resulted in a victory for his state in Hobart. In between, he'd also go on to lead Brisbane Heat to a BBL title. His first-class average too by now had moved from 15 when he moved to SA to the mid-30s.

That ton, his fifth all of which resulted in wins, against Tasmania was the last game of the 2023-24 season, and by the time he'd score his sixth, against New South Wales to save a game that South Australia seemed all set to lose, in October, McSweeney was all of a sudden in the reckoning for a Test slot.

Then it came to timing and scoring at the right time and being at the right place. Australia desperately sought an opener following the retirement of David Warner and the about turn from the decision to have Steve Smith take it up.

Much like he did with his move to South Australia, McSweeney started off as a rank outsider to the opening debate with two seasoned veterans in Marcus Harris and Cameron Bancroft battling it out against the teenaged Sam Konstas.

However, by the time he'd survived the testing conditions of the Great Barrier Reef Oval on the first evening, while the rest had fallen to the testing spells from Mukesh Kumar and Prasidh Krishna, South Australia's Shield captain had more or less overtaken the rest. A match-winning 88 in the run-chase was all he needed to seal the deal. Getting the nod to open the innings at the MCG last week in the second game against India A seemed if anything like an unofficial anointment, before it was made official at the same venue this morning. Despite not making a big score across the two innings, this was merely a dress rehearsal for the real show and not a final chance to impress.

From having moved states only three years prior in search of a brighter future and a new meaning as a cricketer, the man they call Buddha had found his true calling.