'Forever grateful to Marnus Labuschagne' - Australia prodigy Nathan McSweeney talks about influence of senior statesman

Former top-ranked Test batter Marnus Labuschagne is the guiding light for Nathan McSweeney, who is one of the most talented young cricketers in the Australian domestic circuit.

McSweeney's stocks have risen remarkably in recent times as a result of his consistent performances in domestic cricket. He is currently leading the Prime Minister's XI side in the warm-up fixture against Pakistan in Canberra. His team comprises several experienced campaigners like Matt Renshaw, Cameron Bancroft, Marcus Harris, and Jimmy Peirson, respectively.

However, the selectors still backed McSweeney to lead the side. The 24-year-old thanked Marnus Labuschagne for guiding him in his cricketing journey. The two of them played together for Queensland before McSweeney moved to South Australia.

"I was lucky enough to work with Marnus (Labuschagne) before I left (Queensland) for South Australia. He was massive for me in the COVID year where the Aussie guys didn't do much travel. He side-armed to me in the nets and we would bat together all the time," McSweeney said in an interview with Cricket Australia.

His wife would get annoyed when he's tapping his bat in the middle of the night: McSweeney

Marnus Labuschagne recently won the ODI World Cup and during the campaign, he stayed in touch with the youngster and guided him. McSweeney expressed his gratitude for the 29-year-old veteran. On a hilarious note he further added that Labuschagne's wife would get angry with him at times for helping out the former even in the middle of the night.

"He loves it. He loves FaceTiming. I think his wife Bec would get a bit annoyed at times when he's tapping his bat on the floor in the middle of the night, trying to show me what he reckons. But I'm forever grateful because he's so generous with his time," McSweeney noted.

"His work ethic and the way he wants to better himself every day is pretty impressive. He continues to try and tinker and change and find out ways he can do it better. So for me, just watching him and then listening to what he's thinking, that helps me heaps. And when I do well, he sends me a message, which isn't a big thing for him, but for me, who's trying to follow in his footsteps, it definitely has plenty of weight," he added.

Notably, McSweeney and Labuschagne are set to represent Brisbane Heat in the 2023-24 season of the Big Bash League. However, they will not get to play too many games together as the latter will miss a considerable part of the tournament due to his involvement in the impending three-match Test series against Pakistan.