Nathan McSweeney

Nathan Andrew McSweeney (born 8 March 1999) is an Australian cricketer and current captain of South Australia. He plays for Glenelg in South Australian Premier Cricket. McSweeney has been earmarked as a future Australian captain and has captained the Australia A and Prime Minister's XI teams.

Usually a conservative batter, McSweeney has shown the ability to be aggressive when batting with the lower order, most notably scoring 28 runs from an over to reach a century in a tenth-wicket partnership with Harry Conway. He is a useful off break bowler, often being called upon to break partnerships.

Career

Prior to his first-class debut, he was named in Australia's squad for the 2018 Under-19 Cricket World Cup. In the Under-19 Cricket World Cup, he scored a match-winning 156 runs against Papua New Guinea. He made his first-class debut for Queensland against Tasmania in the 2018–19 Sheffield Shield season on 16 October 2018.

He made his Twenty20 debut on 25 January 2020, for the Melbourne Renegades in the 2019–20 Big Bash League season. He was signed by the Brisbane Heat as a local replacement player for Marnus Labuschagne for the 2021–22 Big Bash League season. He was officially signed by the Brisbane Heat following successful performances during the 2022–23 Big Bash League season, receiving a two-year deal with the club.

In May 2021, McSweeney moved to South Australia ahead of the 2021/22 season, making his List A debut on 22 September 2021, for South Australia in the 2021–22 Marsh One-Day Cup. He scored his maiden first-class century on 1 December 2022 against Tasmania, ending on 118.

In March 2023, McSweeney was announced as captain of Australia A for their tour of New Zealand. Playing in the first unofficial Test, he scored 50 in the first innings and 69* in the second.

McSweeney captained Brisbane Heat in the 2023–24 Big Bash League season to their second Big Bash League title in the absence of regular captain Usman Khawaja. In February 2024, McSweeney was named as part of the 2023–24 Marsh One-Day Cup team of tournament, scoring 307 runs at an average of 51.16 and taking 3 wickets for the tournament.

In April 2024, McSweeney was named as the captain of South Australia for the 2024–25 Australian domestic season. He scored his maiden List A century on 25 October 2024, with 137 runs in 131 balls against Queensland. He was selected as part of the India A tour of Australia, reprising his role as Australia A captain. In the first unofficial test, batting at number 4, McSweeney scored 39 in the first innings and an unbeaten 88 in the second to chase India A's target of 225. Having been earmarked to take the available opening slot in the Australian team, he opened the batting for the first time in first-class cricket in the second game, scoring 14 and 25. At the conclusion of the match, McSweeney was named in Australia's team for the Border Gavaskar Trophy, set to open the batting in the first test at Perth.