Nathan McSweeney’s Impressive Start in County Cricket
Nathan McSweeney has been praised as “a class act” after achieving back-to-back centuries for Northamptonshire, showcasing an impressive start to his career in county cricket. The Australian opener faced a tough challenge on Sunday at Northampton’s Wantage Road ground, where he needed an additional 13 runs to complete his second consecutive century for the team coached by Darren Lehmann.
Despite the difficulty, McSweeney managed to reach three figures again with a well-timed pull off his hips to the boundary off the formidable Naavya Sharma, scoring off 177 balls. This achievement added to his consistent performance, following an unbeaten hundred at Canterbury in Northants’ previous match. Before that, he had also scored a half-century as captain of South Australia in their Sheffield Shield final victory against Victoria in Melbourne last month.
McSweeney did not remain at the crease for long, eventually being dismissed for 107 off 191 balls, having hit 16 boundaries. However, his teammate James Sale, who shared a 164-run partnership with him, went on to score a career-best 164 in Northants’ total of 409, in response to Middlesex’s 341.
“I was awesome to watch Nathan from the other end, learning from him. He’s a class act, isn’t he? Back-to-back hundreds, hopefully he can continue that,” said Sales, whose ninth-wicket partner, Australian paceman Liam Guthrie, also made his first career half-century (51 off 49 balls) in a stand of 74.
When Middlesex batted again, the Sydney-born former England opener Sam Robson was in good form, scoring 49 not out in their 1-109, giving them a 41-run lead going into the final day.
Warwickshire’s Tasmanian ace Beau Webster was also performing well, falling just nine runs short of his second century for the county. His 91, scored when his side were struggling at 3-14, helped the hosts set a challenging victory target of 206 against Essex at Edgbaston. Webster hit 16 boundaries in his classy 123-ball knock, and his efforts ensured Warwickshire could pose a difficult target. They were 11-0 at the close.
Another Australian player who achieved a half-century during what is becoming an impressive campaign was Jake Lehmann. He scored his second 50 of the match for Hampshire against Somerset at Southampton, and his fourth half-century in successive knocks for the southern county.
Hampshire resumed their second innings on 1-146, with left-hander Lehmann, who had previously scored 76 in his first innings, going on to exactly 50 as he helped the home side compile 336 all out—a lead of 286.
Despite this, Somerset looked in decent shape for a second win of the season in their bid to stay top of division one. They finished the day on 3-139, with James Rew on 58 not out and needing another 148 to win on Monday.
