‘Destined to play’: Greats reveal their ‘next gen’ picks to solve Aussie batting puzzle

Discarded opener Sam Konstas appeals as the future of the Australian Test team and Nathan McSweeney and Matt Renshaw deserve another chance to display their talent in the Baggy Green.

That is the verdict delivered by Kayo Sport’s expert analysts David Warner, Kerry O’Keeffe and Brendon Julian should the Australian selection panel look to refresh the nation’s top-order over the next couple of years.

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While a difficult opening to Australia’s 20 Test odyssey over the next year has inflamed debate as to a couple of incumbents, Warner and O’Keeffe have run the ruler over potential contenders with a longer-term view to the future.

Should Jake Weatherald, Marnus Labuschagne and Cameron Green continue to struggle, the change may come sooner, particularly after the former chopped on for a third ball duck on Saturday to continue his run of outs.

As Mark Waugh noted; “There has been a lot spoken about their position in the team given the stats around over the last few months of their careers.”

But with a broader view to the Australian team beyond next year’s Ashes, Fox Cricket considers who shapes as the future of the Aussie top order.

Konstas, McSweeney and Renshaw already have a Baggy Green and Warner and O’Keeffe believe promising Victorian duo Campbell Kellaway and Ollie Peake are also capable of representing Australia in Test cricket in the future.

At lunch on Day 3 in Darwin, the duo provided their assessments of the next batters in line for The Big Break on Kayo Sports.

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Sam Konstas, 20

(Five Tests for 163 runs at 16.3 with a highest score of 60. 32 First Class matches for 1910 runs at 32.9 with a highest score of 152)

David Warner has no doubt that his fellow New South Welshman Sam Konstas, who debuted against India with a blaze of glory in the Boxing Day Test in 2024 before falling from favour midway through last year, has what it takes to excel.

He is adamant there are layers to Konstas, who was given licence to take the attack to Jasprit Bumrah but then failed to reel in his aggressive urges, and that if he is able to bat with more rigour, he will succeed at Test level.

“He’s got the base. He (has) scored runs,” Warner said.

“That series there (against India), he wanted to do something a little bit different. That’s fine. But now (he has to) go back to batting, go back to the way that he knows how to play the game and score runs and score big runs. (He has) had that taste. I know he’s got that about him, that he just wants to get out there and play for Australia.”

Julian believes Australia made the wrong call in overlooking him for last February’s tour of Sri Lanka where Travis Head excelled at the top of the order and Josh Inglis cashed in with a maiden century on debut.

“I agree with that. Had he nailed some runs in that second innings against India at the SCG, that could have got him on the train,” he said.

Campbell Kellaway, 23

(44 matches for 2333 runs at 31.5 with a highest score of 165*)

At the end of a successful Ashes campaign, Kerry O’Keeffe told foxsports.com.au that he was impressed with the manner the Victorian opener Kellaway was approaching his cricket.

While both Kellaway and Konstas missed out against Bangladesh for a Cricket Australia XI last week, he anticipates the left-hander to further his claims for a Baggy Green over the next Sheffield Shield season.

“(He is a) prolific off-side hitter through point and cover, a tall (player) who stays side-on as much as he can and keeps the bat face open,” O’Keeffe said.

“I think he’s destined (to play for Australia) as well, Campbell Kellaway. There’s something about him. He’s a very good fielder. He can play spin and there’s something about him when you look at that stroke play. He gets low, even though he’s tall, and he takes slow bowlers on. There’s a lot to like about Campbell Kellaway.”

When quizzed by Julian as to his average last year in Sheffield Shield, which dipped below 30, O’Keeffe said the context of where and when he was batting needed to be considered.

“Nine out of 10 toss winners in Sheffield Shield set the opposition in,” O’Keeffe said.

“That was how they viewed (the difficulty in batting), so he would have been sent into bat on a lot of pitches that aided bowlers like Nathan McAndrew, Fergus O’Neill, Liam Hatcher.

“These are good cricketers, but they were advantaged by the amount of sideways that are in those Sheffield Shield pitches. That’s why all the batting averages were so low.”

Nathan McSweeney, 27

(Three Tests for 72 runs at 14.4 with a highest score of 39. 64 First Class matches for 4069 runs at 38.75 with a top score of 226*)

David Warner is adamant that Nathan McSweeney deserves another chance, stating Australia has a potential skipper in waiting if the Queenslander come South Australian can cement a spot in the Test side.

McSweeney endured a baptism of fire when promoted to open against India after Warner’s retirement and found Jasprit Bumrah to difficult to handle, though he was far from alone.

“He came in at every single hardest position an opening batter does not want to face in a career. He had all of them in that Test series,” Warner said.

“I definitely think he’s good enough. I think his best position is probably three or four ... and I think he’s got the patience and the leadership qualities as well. He’s got, I think, a bright future.”

McSweeney, who batted well in the recent County cricket season after leading South Australia to the two most recent Sheffield Shield successes, has the grit to offer the Australian top order a backbone according to O’Keeffe.

“I saw him in the Sheffield Shield final on a deck (that was) playing tricks for the whole time and he got 52 and 20,” he said. “They were tough runs and that’s what Australia needs at the top of the order, at one, two or three, the guy that gets the tough runs, and Nathan McSweeney’s capable of those.”

Oliver Peake, 19

(13 First Class matches for 520 runs at 26 with a highest score of 92)

Identified as a batting prodigy from a young age, the Geelong teenager performed superbly when representing his nation in under-age cricket and is viewed as a superb prospect.

He has played for Australia A in red ball cricket and debuted in ODI cricket in the recent tours of Pakistan and Bangladesh, where his best scores were 31 and 27 in four innings.

Warner believes he can bat in a number of positions and said he shapes as a generational talent for Australia.

“He’s got gears and the best thing about him is, and what I’ve heard from a lot of people, is that he adapts to the situations very fast,” he said.

“I know he’s young, but he knows his game plan, he knows the game situations and he plays them. There’s a lot to like about him. There’s big wraps on him, but I think he’s going to be your generation player.”

O’Keeffe urged caution when discussing Peake in January and said it was important the young Victorian focused on his defence as much as his aggression.

“We see him attacking and he’s so good at that,” he said.

“But I have seen him try to defend on iffy pitches in Sheffield Shield and he will lose his pole or nick off. That’s one aspect of the game (to improve). He has you have to defend when it’s the bowler’s way. That’s all part of the challenge.”

Matt Renshaw, 30

(14 Tests for 645 runs at 29.31 with a highest score of 184. 133 First Class matches for 8,188 runs at 37.7 with a top score of 200*)

It is a decade since the left-hander starred against Pakistan when batting throughout a day at the SCG in a brilliant display for a 20-year-old and in recent seasons he has performed well for Australia in white ball cricket.

But Warner believes that if Matt Renshaw is to return to the Australian Test Team, he must open in the Sheffield Shield for Queensland this year and demonstrate the temperament needed to excel at the top.

“Well, if he opens this year for Queensland, I think he can make his way back into the Australian team,” he said.

“It’s about ‘What has Matt Renshaw learnt from when he was playing there in that environment? What has he learnt there that he can adapt into the environment today?’

“He’s had some white ball success, which is fantastic, but it’s just that other side of it with the Test match stuff. Has he learned a lot from when he first played? That’s my question.”

O’Keeffe has no doubt Renshaw is an improved cricketer but that does not necessarily mean he will earn a spot in the team.

“He is getting better,” he said.

“I watched him a lot last year and he is improving with every year.”

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