Aussie opener wants another go at Bumrah

Australian opener Nathan McSweeney wants his first Test match at his beloved Gabba to include a head-to-head battle with Jasprit Bumrah rather than have India weakened by the loss of the fast bowling king.

A fitness cloud hangs over Bumrah heading into the third and perhaps pivotal Test of a five-match series locked at 1-1.

Claims from the Indian camp that Bumrah was merely suffering from cramp during the second Test in Adelaide have been rubbished by former Australian fast bowler Damien Fleming, who told SEN Radio that there had to be “serious doubts” about the pace ace playing in the Brisbane clash, which starts on Saturday.

But McSweeney, who endured a torrid start on Test debut in Perth, out to Bumrah twice including a second innings duck and again in Adelaide, albeit having made 39 runs, said the better the challenge, the more he;d savour big runs against the Indian maestro.

“It’s a weird one,” McSweeney said on Wednesday.

“If you want to win ... you want to do it (against) the best guys. He’s quite a unique bowler. He’s obviously world-class.

“He’s a little bit different to most bowlers I’ve faced, so it’s just about adapting to his angle and where he delivers on the crease.

“I got two pretty good balls from him (in the first Test in Perth), so I’ve got to just try to wear that on the chin and trust that what I’ve been doing has got to be good enough.

“He got me again in Adelaide, (but) he’s a great bowler, and I’m really enjoying the experience to be able to try to work out a game plan on the run against a world-class bowler.

“Hopefully I’ll get better the more I face him, and I can throw a few more punches, hopefully here at the Gabba.”

McSweeney, who was installed as an opener for the Test side despite batting at No.3 in Sheffield Shield cricket, took confidence form his efforts in Adelaide knowing that he can “withstand a bit of pressure”, having batted underlights against Bumrah and the pink ball to get through to the end of the opening day.

“When you don’t make runs, you’re always disappointed,” he said.

“You’re trying to desperately to get a score to cement your spot in the team, but ... it’s nice to get a little bit of a score (39 in Adelaide), and hopefully, I can really grow from that.

“I know that I can withstand a bit of pressure, and hopefully I can get through that and make a big score here in Brisbane.”

McSweeney still regards the Gabba as his true home ground despite having left Queensland to play for South Australia.

“I love playing here because it (the Gabba pitch) has great bounce,” he said.

“It can seam around, no doubt, and if there are overhead clouds, it can swing around a little bit, but as a batter, you try to prepare for all scenarios.

“You can really trust the bounce here, and it’s about not fighting that bounce and scoring square of the wicket.”