Queensland spinner Mitch Swepson is targeting Australia’s tour of Sri Lanka as his return to the Test team

It’s right there, in his office.

Currently out of reach for him in the figurative sense and for his son in the literal sense.

But it is there. Not put away or locked in glass, but as a daily inspiration – and longing.

Mitch Swepson wants to wear his baggy green again.

He managed to do so four times in 2022, but not again since then.

For Swepson, hitting the cap is not enough. His experience as a Test cricketer has only whetted his appetite.

First, however, he makes sure Baggy Green stays somewhere safe, knowing the damage 18-month-old Beauden can do in a hurry.

Unplayable podcast status previews

– WA preview with Lance Morris

– SA preview with Jordan Buckingham

– TAS preview with Charlie Wakim

“He would do whatever he wanted with it,” Swepson told Podcast cannot be played. “It’s neatly tucked away downstairs, not packed away, so it’s still there as a little reminder.

“I have to walk past it every morning. It’s a good motivator, but for the young guy it’s definitely out of reach.”

Swepson’s Test appearances were more than two years ago, in Pakistan and Sri Lanka, with only a few months between the tours.

When Australia returned to the subcontinent for four Tests against India in February 2023, the leg-spinner was overlooked.

Right-handed off-spinner Todd Murphy and left-handed orthodox spinners Ashton Agar and Matthew Kuhnemann were preferred as partners for Nathan Lyon.

However, with a trip to Sri Lanka planned for late January next year, Swepson is confident that his experience there (where he took eight wickets at 24) will boost his chances when the selection committee announces their squad.

“I would be lying if I said I wasn’t keeping an eye on (the Sri Lanka tour),” Swepson said.

“This is definitely a place I want to be.

“I always want to play at the highest level and having had a taste of Test cricket has made me even hungrier to get back there.

“(I was) fortunate enough to be on the last tour to Sri Lanka and play those two games. Hopefully that gives me a little bit of an advantage because I got experience there in those conditions and they (the selection committee) are thinking about it.”

Listen to the full interview with Mitch Swepson on the Unplayable Podcast now.