“The hunger and drive is always there for him, regardless of how many he makes, and he was under the pump, no doubt. We wouldn’t have won, or Travis wouldn’t have been able to go out and play the way he did, without what he did.
“He’ll be leaving no stone unturned this week, and I’m sure he’ll be able to bring his best game, and then hopefully we see him spend some time in the middle out there in front of his home crowd.”
While McSweeney and Labuschagne showed promise before the third Test, starting on Saturday, Australia’s win failed to hide the top order woes.
Steve Smith and Usman Khawaja have endured rare lean patches – averaging 23.2 and 25.7 respectively in 2024 – while Labuschagne arrives in Brisbane with memories of his century when India last toured the Gabba, but averaging just 31.4 since the start of 2023.
Australian cricket has been at its best when players have kept pressure on the Test incumbents. After so much uncertainty regarding who will replace the injured Cameron Green, a host of men have put their names up for consideration should injuries or further form dips strike.
Hunt peeled off his third hundred of the season last week, while fellow opener Sam Konstas backed up his 107 for the Prime Minister’s XI with a crisp 88 against Western Australia.
Two-Test wonder Patterson has kept the heat on Labuschagne to deliver, having struck four half-centuries and an unbeaten 167 from six innings.
But with three Tests still to come, the Sheffield Shield will go on hiatus until February as the Big Bash League begins, limiting the hopefuls from building on their momentum against the red ball.
However, McSweeney believed the shift to T20 cricket would not derail them, and would ensure the Test squad needed to build on their Adelaide efforts.
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“It’s the way it is, I think we played six Shield games before Christmas which is perfect, and it’s not a bad break for the domestic players to go from Shield cricket and then to Big Bash,” McSweeney said.
“To experience a bit of excitement and the big crowds that come in, that’s another good skill to learn how to play under.
“For me personally, my game doesn’t change heaps in between formats, and those guys will be fine as well.”
