Australia bank on 'scary' middle order to do the job

The trio of Travis Head, Mitch Marsh and Alex Carey have been labelled a "scary proposition" ahead of Australia's bid to win back the Border-Gavaskar trophy. The five-Test series against India gets underway at Perth's Optus Stadium on Friday, with the inclusion of opener Nathan McSweeney for the injured Cam Green the only change to Australia's XI. McSweeney's inclusion to partner Usman Khawaja at the top of the order means Steve Smith reverts to his favoured No.4 position, while Marnus Labuschagne remains at No.3. If things go haywire for Australia at the top of the order, they have Head, Marsh and Carey to launch a counter-punch. It's a weapon captain Pat Cummins loves having up his sleeve. "If they come in and the (opposition) bowlers already have plenty of overs into them, that's a pretty scary proposition," Cummins said. "And similarly, we've seen some counter punches where we've been two, three or four down for not many and Marsh has pulled out 100 or Head has pulled out 100 and changed the dynamics pretty quickly. "So I really like how that middle order has been structured the last couple of years." The experiment of moving Smith up to opener to replace the retired David Warner lasted just four Tests, with his 91no against the West Indies his only real score of note in the unfamiliar position. Selectors have now turned to 25-year-old McSweeney, who has never opened in Sheffield Shield cricket. Warner made a reputation for himself as an aggressive opening batter, but Cummins simply wants McSweeney to play to his strengths. "Dave is very hard to replace in many ways, but I think the most important thing for someone like Nathan, who's coming in, is just to play his own game," Cummins said. "He doesn't need to strike at 80 like Davey did, if that's not his game. "So for them (McSweeney and Khawaja), I'd love to see them bring the best out of each other. "They've played a little bit and batted a bit together for Queensland, but for both of them, it's about bringing what they bring to the table. "For Uzzie, it's those long innings getting the bowlers to come back and back and back again. And I think Nathan is pretty similar in that regard." India have held the Border-Gavaskar trophy since 2016/17, but they have arrived in Australia under immense pressure to perform following their shock 3-0 series loss at home to NZ. Veteran Virat Kohli averaged just 15.5 during that series and has posted only two centuries in his past 60 Test innings. Regular skipper Rohit Sharma will miss the first Test in Perth after remaining in India for the birth of his second child, while young star Shubman Gill is also absent after injuring his thumb at training last week. Veteran paceman Mohammed Shami is still building his fitness following a serious ankle injury that kept him out for almost a year, but he could be unleashed later in the series. "Mohammed Shami is an integral part of this team," stand-in skipper Jasprit Bumrah said. "He's started bowling, and the management is keeping a close eye on him, hopefully you might see him here."