New Delhi, Nov 13 (IANS) Australian chief selector George Bailey has fired back at the criticism levelled by former Test opener Ed Cowan, who called the selection of Nathan McSweeney for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy opener "a guess".

Cricket Australia, while revealing the 13-man squad last week, confirmed that McSweeney would open the batting alongside Usman Khawaja in the series opener on November 22 in Perth.

McSweeney had never opened the batting at first-class level before this week’s Australia A match against India A at the MCG. The South Australia captain has impressed at No.4 and, more recently, No.3, for his statewith scores of 39 off 131 and 88 not out off 178. The 25-year-old. however, failed to fire in his new position as opener, registering scores of 14 and 25.

Cowan, who represented Australia in 18 Tests from 2011 to 2013, questioned the choice of McSweeney to partner Khawaja at the top of the order, suggesting that his current form and track record do not merit his promotion.

Speaking to ABC’s Grandstand Cricket podcast Cowan said, "The data would suggest at the moment in his career, he doesn’t have the technique nor the temperament to do it. Do you know what a selection, when the data doesn’t support your point of view, is? It’s a guess. It’s a guess."

Bailey was quick to react and voiced his support for the South Australian’s selection. "I'd like to think it's a little more than a guess. I guess we could all run our fingers down the list of leading run-scorers or leading wicket-takers and just work our way through the top, but that's not necessarily how cricket teams work," Bailey Bailey told SEN on Thursday.

"We like his (McSweeney's) technique, temperament; we think he's got the game to succeed at Test level. Conscious that it's unlikely that will be linear here. I don't think there's many people that go through their Test career where that is.

"But we think he can succeed, and I also think he complements the team and that's an important factor, too; the balance of what you want your make-up of your XI to look like," he said.