{"id":137488,"date":"2025-09-12T10:34:09","date_gmt":"2025-09-12T10:34:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/137488\/"},"modified":"2025-09-12T10:34:09","modified_gmt":"2025-09-12T10:34:09","slug":"cricket-news-2025-sam-konstas-gets-matthew-hayden-help-for-australian-ashes-selection","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/137488\/","title":{"rendered":"Cricket news 2025, Sam Konstas gets Matthew Hayden help for Australian Ashes selection"},"content":{"rendered":"

Embattled teenage batting talent Sam Konstas<\/a> has enlisted the help of Aussie great Matthew Hayden<\/a> in a bid to get back on track and earn Ashes selection.<\/p>\n

The 19-year-old Sydneysider burst onto the Test<\/a> scene with a chaotic debut against India in Melbourne last summer, but has struggled to put runs on the board at any level since.<\/p>\n

In five matches for Australia he averages only 16.30, and failed to make more than 25 runs in six digs against the West Indies<\/a> in June and July.<\/p>\n

READ MORE: Tragic finals absence highlighted by NRL Team of the Year<\/a><\/p>\n

READ MORE: ‘Moneyball stuff’: Unsung hero who rebuilt woeful Crows<\/a><\/p>\n

READ MORE: ‘Of course I can’: Ange interrupts to correct record<\/a><\/p>\n

He’s since been sent to India with an Australia A squad as coaching staff desperately try to unlock his huge potential in time to face England at home this summer.<\/p>\n

But the young gun has also taken matters into his own hands, reaching out to Hayden for some mentorship.<\/p>\n

Hayden endured his own rough start to life as a Test cricketer.<\/p>\n

\"Australia's<\/p>\n

Australia’s Sam Konstas walks off the field after his dismissal in Kingston, Jamaica.\u00a0AP<\/p>\n

He debuted for Australia at the age of 22 but then disappeared from the team for two and a half years. After coming back as a more permanent member, he made it past 50 just once in his first nine matches.<\/p>\n

Hayden went on to play 103 Tests for Australia and average 50.73 to be regarded one of the country’s finest ever opening batters.<\/p>\n

Now he’s helping Konstas reach those heights.<\/p>\n

“I guess me in particular knows just how difficult it can really be at that highest level when you’re not comfortable,” Hayden told the All Over Bar The Cricket podcast this week.<\/p>\n

“I liked the way he goes about his action. You know, I liked the way that he sort of puts himself out there, that he’s a point of difference.<\/p>\n

“But the biggest thing is when you’re under pressure, which you always are in the first handful of games, you need to have a really solid base and you need to have solid voices around you as well.<\/p>\n

“I guess when he reached out, and I kind of went back and forward a little bit, and we’ve been speaking a little bit sporadically… It’s just that reinforcing of positive energy, you know, a positive voice from an understanding point of view that can help in any way possible.<\/p>\n

“The first seven or eight years of my career, all I was thinking about was getting better every day, which means all I was thinking about was understanding my weaknesses.<\/p>\n

“And once you go to the middle thinking weaknesses, how am I going to get better, It just confuses you.”<\/p>\n

Australia desperately needs Konstas to find some form before the Ashes kicks off at the end of November.<\/p>\n

He is one of several Aussie batters out of form and fighting to earn selection in the top six.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Sam Konstas was bowled by Shamar Joseph. \u00a0AP<\/p>\n

It’s been a whirlwind 12 months for Konstas, who was barely known around the country before blasting some big Sheffield Shield scores to start last summer, ultimately earning him a Test debut.<\/p>\n

He spoke to 9News this week and revealed he has quit social media in an effort to focus on his batting.<\/p>\n

“Whatever opportunity I get I’ve got to score runs,” he said.<\/p>\n

“It’s been crazy, to be honest. A lot more attention. It’s been a good experience and I’ll be better for it.<\/p>\n

“(The scrutiny) comes as part of it, I love it.<\/p>\n

“I get to do something that I love, and at my age, 19, hopefully it’s just the start.<\/p>\n

“I’ve been feeling really good, working on a few things with my batting coach.<\/p>\n

“I’m off social media now, trying to limit my distractions.”<\/p>\n

Konstas will suit up for New South Wales when the Shield season begins next month.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Embattled teenage batting talent Sam Konstas has enlisted the help of Aussie great Matthew Hayden in a bid…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":137489,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[564],"tags":[64,63,740,85],"class_list":["post-137488","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cricket","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-cricket","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/137488","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=137488"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/137488\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/137489"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=137488"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=137488"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=137488"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}