“There was some joking around when McSweeney was coming on [to bowl] that he was auditioning for the Sri Lanka tour, but everyone has been the same as what they usually are.

“There might have been some nerves for some of the batters who were auditioning for Test spots, but I think everyone held the same sort of character throughout the week.”

Rocchiccioli, who took 4-74 in the second innings, joked that he hoped chairman of selectors George Bailey was going to “tap me on the shoulder and say they will be taking two spinners to Optus Stadium” but would otherwise keep working towards a debut in future.

McSweeney, 25, has emerged as the batting bolter of the summer, and the South Australia skipper is a strong chance of winning a place in the Test squad.

Harris, already with 14 Tests to his credit but none since 2022, has also had a solid start to the summer for Victoria and Australia A, including a century against Tasmania in friendly batting conditions at the Junction Oval.

McSweeney has made a strong start to the first-class season, with scores of 55, 127 not out, 37 and 72, building on his team-high 762 runs at 40.10 last summer. Last weekend he top-scored in each of Australia A’s innings against India A with 47 and 39 when batting at No.4, and made 14 in the first innings in Melbourne before nicking off.

In his favour is that the selectors may prefer a left and right-handed combination at the top of the order.

The left-handed Harris has technical issues outside off stump in his short Test career, averaging a modest 25.29, with a top score of only 79 in 26 innings. He has worked assiduously to overcome this, but state and international fast bowlers still continue to tempt him in this region, as shown in each of his dismissals at the MCG.

While India looked likely to collapse in the final hours of the previous evening, finishing on 5-73, Dhruv Jurel and partner Nitish Kumar Reddy didn’t look that way in the morning.

One of the highlights was Jurel, who could force his way into the first Test side as a batsman, hoisting off-spinner Corey Rocchiccioli straight down the ground for six.

They put on 94 for the sixth wicket until Jurel skied a ball from the spinner to the leg side, where Sam Kontas took an assured catch in the deep.

Prasidh wielded the willow with gusto during his time at the crease, and did so with success, making 29 off 43 balls, including five boundaries, before Konstas took a brilliant diving catch in the deep off Rocchiccioli.

While settling on the opening role shapes as the biggest call for the national selectors this summer, they do have other concerns.

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Batting kingpins Marnus Labuschagne, also with issues outside off stump, and Steve Smith have not delivered the big score each would have craved, particularly in the opening pair of one-day internationals against Pakistan, while Mitch Marsh and Travis Head are each on paternity leave and have not played a competitive game in over a month. However, Marsh and Head will be fresh for the demanding summer which awaits.

Head coach Andrew McDonald insists his ODI side will continue to attack, despite being bowled out for 163 in a nine-wicket loss to Pakistan on Friday – Australia’s lowest completed ODI innings at the Adelaide Oval.

Heading into the series decider in Perth on Sunday, the world champions will field a team without five star players, but intend to maintain the same attitude with only one ODI remaining before the ICC Champions Trophy tournament in Pakistan in February.

“We’re committed to the style we want to play. The big thing about that is we’ve won 16 out of the last 19 games, and we’ve got some changing personnel within that, but we believe in the style we want to play as a group,” McDonald said.

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