{"id":2234,"date":"2025-07-18T04:50:10","date_gmt":"2025-07-18T04:50:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/2234\/"},"modified":"2025-07-18T04:50:10","modified_gmt":"2025-07-18T04:50:10","slug":"will-the-batsmen-ever-be-selected-for-australian-test-cricket-team-after-west-indies-woes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/2234\/","title":{"rendered":"Will the batsmen ever be selected for Australian Test Cricket team after West Indies woes?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cI think everything\u2019s up in the air at the moment,\u201d former Australian Test captain Mark Taylor, who presented Konstas his baggy green on Boxing Day last year, told this masthead. \u201cThat\u2019s for Sam and Usman [Khawaja] because they both haven\u2019t set the world on fire.\u201d<\/p>\n

The numbers are jarring for a player nicknamed \u201cPinter\u201d \u2014 a pint-sized Punter (Ricky Ponting) \u2014 by some in NSW cricket circles.<\/p>\n

Scores of 60, 8, 23, 22, 3, 5, 25, 0, 17 and 0 leave Konstas with a Test average of 16.3 \u2014 the lowest ever by an Australian opener from as many innings.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can see the effects of Test cricket affected him mentally,\u201d said former NSW and Australian wicketkeeper Brad Haddin. \u201cTest cricket\u2019s a tough place. Mentally, if things aren\u2019t going your way, there\u2019s nowhere to hide. His confidence would have taken a big hit.\u201d<\/p>\n

How did it get to this point? Where to from here?<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got to be really, really careful,\u201d said a former Australian cricketer, speaking on the condition of anonymity. \u201cHe\u2019s such a young kid. I feel sorry for him.\u201d<\/p>\n

A rapid rise and even sharper fall<\/p>\n

A little over 13 weeks before Konstas walked out to bat on Test debut at the Melbourne Cricket Ground against the best fast bowler on the planet, India\u2019s Jasprit Bumrah, he was bowled by a 15-year-old fourth grader in a Sydney Premier Cricket match.<\/p>\n

Konstas, playing for Sutherland\u2019s under-21s Poidevin-Gray team, had already blasted what ended up being a match-winning hundred, yet was dismissed by a young Northern Districts bowler by the name of Rubeindranath Gobinath.<\/p>\n

The anecdote isn\u2019t to crticise Konstas, but to highlight how quickly his star rose. Some believe that hundred, albeit against teenagers, kick-started his season. No one could have predicted he\u2019d be playing for Australia by December.<\/p>\n

Professional sport is full of sliding door moments and Konstas had several late last year.<\/p>\n

Konstas was selected to bat at No.6 in a NSW trial match early last season. He then made 25 and 8 in a second XI game for NSW.<\/p>\n

Only when Steve Smith didn\u2019t return for NSW – Konstas thought Australia\u2019s No.4 was going to be playing the match – did the teenager get a start at the top of the order in the Sheffield Shield.<\/p>\n

He responded with twin hundreds at Cricket Central in Sydney and became the name on everyone\u2019s lips.<\/p>\n

\"Sam<\/p>\n

Sam Konstas at the SCG.Credit: Kate Geraghty<\/p>\n

Even then, had any number of more experienced found form – Cameron Bancroft, Marcus Harris or Matt Renshaw – Konstas probably wouldn\u2019t have debuted at the MCG. An audacious century at Manuka Oval in a Prime Minister\u2019s XI game against the touring Indians only added to the intrigue and hype.<\/p>\n

If Nathan McSweeney had made one reasonable score against India, Konstas wouldn\u2019t have played in Melbourne. He was brought in as a \u201cdisruptor\u201d, in the words of head coach Andrew McDonald.<\/p>\n

Had one of Bumrah\u2019s seaming deliveries caught his edge on Boxing Day, his debut 60 would not have happened.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cIt was not as if he made huge scores,\u201d Taylor said. \u201cIt was the fact he made the papers for a different reason. It gave him a spotlight he probably didn\u2019t need.<\/p>\n

\"Sam<\/p>\n

Sam Konstas ahead of his debut innings on Boxing Day. Credit: Getty Images<\/p>\n

\u201cNormally, you try and make your way in quietly and then assert your authority once you become a bit more of a senior player. That didn\u2019t happen to Sam. It\u2019s a lot to handle. I think he\u2019s now trying to, quite rightfully, backpedal a bit and settle into the side.\u201d<\/p>\n

Haddin believes the uniqueness of the debut shaped perceptions.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that might have played a role in the hype around what everyone expected in Test cricket,\u201d Haddin said. \u201cI don\u2019t think we\u2019ll ever see a debut quite like that. What comes with that was a lot of outside pressure and expectations.\u201d<\/p>\n

In October, Konstas became the third-youngest player to make centuries in both innings of a Shield game<\/a>, behind Ponting and Archie Jackson.<\/p>\n

Then, his first-class average was 50.25. After another 28 first-class innings, it\u2019s now 30.34.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think he\u2019s still probably trying to work out exactly the right way to play,\u201d Taylor said. \u201cHe hasn\u2019t been helped [in the West Indies] by not being given a decent pitch to play a normal, orthodox innings.\u201d<\/p>\n

Much has been made of conditions in the Caribbean. Australia anticipated dry wickets and the chance to play two spinners. Instead, all three surfaces \u2014 in Barbados, Grenada and Kingston \u2014 offered exaggerated seam movement.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat cricket was borderline impossible to play at some stages,\u201d Australian head coach Andrew McDonald said this week on SEN.<\/p>\n

According to data seen by the Australian team, the average seam movement in the third Test was 0.84 degrees, which is extreme. Of the 670 Test matches where data has been kept on ball movement, Australia\u2019s latest rout of the West Indies was the 15th most for seam in history.<\/p>\n

\"Sam<\/p>\n

Sam Konstas is out for duck in the second innings in Kingston. Credit: X<\/p>\n

Konstas\u2019 strike rate for the series was 33.11 and he was caught between batting styles.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you look at the contrasting techniques of the way the openers went about it, some tried to nut it out, work hard and battle through. You end up making 20 off 100 balls and still nick one anyway,\u201d Taylor said. \u201cI think Sam wasn\u2019t sure whether to try that method or try, dare I say it, the Boxing Day method and some different shots.\u201d<\/p>\n

There have been other changes. Since becoming a household name, Konstas has increased his social media presence.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t want to get distracted,\u201d Konstas told cricket.com.au<\/a> in February last year at the under-19 Cricket World Cup. \u201cI don\u2019t really need it \u2013 I just try to live in the moment and not be glued to my phone.\u201d<\/p>\n

Konstas now updates his Instagram regularly with brand endorsements and behind-the-scenes glimpses to his 286,000 followers. It would be difficult to not soak up the adulation and added attention.<\/p>\n

A shirtless walk down a Barbados beach sampling local fish burgers before the first Test went viral.<\/p>\n

According to those close to Konstas, he is still in good spirits and eager for a reset before the Sheffield Shield season. His demeanour on tour certainly did not change as the runs dried up. He worked hard in the nets, desperate to turn his fortunes around.<\/p>\n

It just didn\u2019t translate to the middle.<\/p>\n

Loading<\/p>\n

\u201cI think you can see at the end of the tour, it was all mental,\u201d Haddin said. \u201cHe\u2019s never been exposed to any pressure like this before. He wouldn\u2019t have gone on a run like this in any of his cricket, like in junior cricket, without being able to dominate an attack.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we\u2019ve got to remember is the kid\u2019s 19. He\u2019s only had half a season of first-class cricket. This would have been a huge learning curve for him \u2026 which is a good thing. The learnings he\u2019ll take will be enormous.\u201d<\/p>\n

What about the Ashes? Konstas received a strong endorsement from Ricky Ponting this week, who said he wouldn\u2019t change Australia\u2019s top three.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think he can make the Ashes,\u201d Taylor said. \u201cHe\u2019s a young fella. There\u2019s no doubt he\u2019ll be feeling down after the series, but Australia won 3-0. If he can make some runs in the first couple of Shield games, I think he still can play.\u201d<\/p>\n

Haddin added: \u201cI don\u2019t think it\u2019ll be entirely about just runs. It\u2019ll be about where his confidence is at after such a gruelling tour. He\u2019s only a young kid. His peak might be in six years\u2019 time.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cI think everything\u2019s up in the air at the moment,\u201d former Australian Test captain Mark Taylor, who presented…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2235,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[564],"tags":[64,63,740,85],"class_list":["post-2234","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\/2234","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=2234"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2234\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2235"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2234"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2234"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2234"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}