Aussies\u2019 nightmare start as Smith\u2019s unusual act stuns after quick\u2019s milestone<\/a><\/p>\nMahmud rips through Australia | 06:46<\/p>\n
Sam Konstas, 20<\/p>\n
(Five Tests for 163 runs at 16.3 with a highest score of 60. 32 First Class matches for 1910 runs at 32.9 with a highest score of 152)<\/p>\n
David Warner has no doubt that his fellow New South Welshman Sam Konstas, who debuted against India with a blaze of glory in the Boxing Day Test in 2024 before falling from favour midway through last year, has what it takes to excel.<\/p>\n
He is adamant there are layers to Konstas, who was given licence to take the attack to Jasprit Bumrah but then failed to reel in his aggressive urges, and that if he is able to bat with more rigour, he will succeed at Test level.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s got the base. He (has) scored runs,\u201d Warner said. <\/p>\n
\u201cThat series there (against India), he wanted to do something a little bit different. That\u2019s fine. But now (he has to) go back to batting, go back to the way that he knows how to play the game and score runs and score big runs. (He has) had that taste. I know he\u2019s got that about him, that he just wants to get out there and play for Australia.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sam Konstas endured a baptism of fire when debuting for Australia against India but there is confidence he will have a bright future for Australia. (Photo by Darrian Traynor\/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n
Julian believes Australia made the wrong call in overlooking him for last February\u2019s tour of Sri Lanka where Travis Head excelled at the top of the order and Josh Inglis cashed in with a maiden century on debut.<\/p>\n
\u201cI agree with that. Had he nailed some runs in that second innings against India at the SCG, that could have got him on the train,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Green pleas for calm around Konstas | 01:17<\/p>\n
Campbell Kellaway, 23<\/p>\n
(44 matches for 2333 runs at 31.5 with a highest score of 165*)<\/p>\n
At the end of a successful Ashes campaign, Kerry O\u2019Keeffe told foxsports.com.au that he was impressed with the manner the Victorian opener Kellaway was approaching his cricket.<\/p>\n
While both Kellaway and Konstas missed out against Bangladesh for a Cricket Australia XI last week, he anticipates the left-hander to further his claims for a Baggy Green over the next Sheffield Shield season.<\/p>\n
\u201c(He is a) prolific off-side hitter through point and cover, a tall (player) who stays side-on as much as he can and keeps the bat face open,\u201d O\u2019Keeffe said. <\/p>\n
\u201cI think he\u2019s destined (to play for Australia) as well, Campbell Kellaway. There\u2019s something about him. He\u2019s a very good fielder. He can play spin and there\u2019s something about him when you look at that stroke play. He gets low, even though he\u2019s tall, and he takes slow bowlers on. There\u2019s a lot to like about Campbell Kellaway.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kerry O\u2019Keeffe is a big fan of Campbell Kellaway, who is pictured representing Australia A last year. (Photo by Albert Perez\/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n
When quizzed by Julian as to his average last year in Sheffield Shield, which dipped below 30, O\u2019Keeffe said the context of where and when he was batting needed to be considered.<\/p>\n
\u201cNine out of 10 toss winners in Sheffield Shield set the opposition in,\u201d O\u2019Keeffe said. <\/p>\n
\u201cThat was how they viewed (the difficulty in batting), so he would have been sent into bat on a lot of pitches that aided bowlers like Nathan McAndrew, Fergus O\u2019Neill, Liam Hatcher. <\/p>\n
\u201cThese are good cricketers, but they were advantaged by the amount of sideways that are in those Sheffield Shield pitches. That\u2019s why all the batting averages were so low.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kellaway notches 82 in PM XI contest | 00:54<\/p>\n
Nathan McSweeney, 27<\/p>\n
(Three Tests for 72 runs at 14.4 with a highest score of 39. 64 First Class matches for 4069 runs at 38.75 with a top score of 226*)<\/p>\n
David Warner is adamant that Nathan McSweeney deserves another chance, stating Australia has a potential skipper in waiting if the Queenslander come South Australian can cement a spot in the Test side.<\/p>\n
McSweeney endured a baptism of fire when promoted to open against India after Warner\u2019s retirement and found Jasprit Bumrah to difficult to handle, though he was far from alone.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe came in at every single hardest position an opening batter does not want to face in a career. He had all of them in that Test series,\u201d Warner said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI definitely think he\u2019s good enough. I think his best position is probably three or four … and I think he\u2019s got the patience and the leadership qualities as well. He\u2019s got, I think, a bright future.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nathan McSweeney has been in fine form in Country cricket after leading South Australia to back-to-back Sheffield Shield successes. (Photo by Dan Istitene\/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n
McSweeney, who batted well in the recent County cricket season after leading South Australia to the two most recent Sheffield Shield successes, has the grit to offer the Australian top order a backbone according to O\u2019Keeffe.<\/p>\n
\ufeff\u201cI saw him in the Sheffield Shield final on a deck (that was) playing tricks for the whole time and he got 52 and 20,\u201d he said. \u201cThey were tough runs and that\u2019s what Australia needs at the top of the order, at one, two or three, the guy that gets the tough runs, and Nathan McSweeney\u2019s capable of those.\u201d<\/p>\n
McSweeney top scores in Shield with 52 | 00:56<\/p>\n
Oliver Peake, 19<\/p>\n
(13 First Class matches for 520 runs at 26 with a highest score of 92)<\/p>\n
Identified as a batting prodigy from a young age, the Geelong teenager performed superbly when representing his nation in under-age cricket and is viewed as a superb prospect.<\/p>\n
He has played for Australia A in red ball cricket and debuted in ODI cricket in the recent tours of Pakistan and Bangladesh, where his best scores were 31 and 27 in four innings.<\/p>\n
Warner believes he can bat in a number of positions and said he shapes as a generational talent for Australia.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s got gears and the best thing about him is, and what I\u2019ve heard from a lot of people, is that he adapts to the situations very fast,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
\u201cI know he\u2019s young, but he knows his game plan, he knows the game situations and he plays them. There\u2019s a lot to like about him. There\u2019s big wraps on him, but I think he\u2019s going to be your generation player.\u201d<\/p>\n
O\u2019Keeffe urged caution when discussing Peake in January and said it was important the young Victorian focused on his defence as much as his aggression.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe see him attacking and he\u2019s so good at that,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I have seen him try to defend on iffy pitches in Sheffield Shield and he will lose his pole or nick off. That\u2019s one aspect of the game (to improve). He has you have to defend when it\u2019s the bowler\u2019s way. That\u2019s all part of the challenge.\u201d<\/p>\n
Peake smashes century at U19’s World Cup | 01:09<\/p>\n
Matt Renshaw, 30<\/p>\n
(14 Tests for 645 runs at 29.31 with a highest score of 184. 133 First Class matches for 8,188 runs at 37.7 with a top score of 200*)<\/p>\n
It is a decade since the left-hander starred against Pakistan when batting throughout a day at the SCG in a brilliant display for a 20-year-old and in recent seasons he has performed well for Australia in white ball cricket.<\/p>\n
But Warner believes that if Matt Renshaw is to return to the Australian Test Team, he must open in the Sheffield Shield for Queensland this year and demonstrate the temperament needed to excel at the top.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, if he opens this year for Queensland, I think he can make his way back into the Australian team,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s about \u2018What has Matt Renshaw learnt from when he was playing there in that environment? What has he learnt there that he can adapt into the environment today?\u2019 <\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s had some white ball success, which is fantastic, but it\u2019s just that other side of it with the Test match stuff. Has he learned a lot from when he first played? That\u2019s my question.\u201d<\/p>\n
O\u2019Keeffe has no doubt Renshaw is an improved cricketer but that does not necessarily mean he will earn a spot in the team.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe is getting better,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI watched him a lot last year and he is improving with every year.\u201d<\/p>\n
Renshaw guides Aussies to victory | 01:12<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Discarded opener Sam Konstas appeals as the future of the Australian Test team and Nathan McSweeney and Matt…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":855969,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[64,63,44,85],"class_list":["post-855968","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-australia","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-news","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/855968","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=855968"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/855968\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/855969"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=855968"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=855968"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=855968"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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