Konstas hasn’t quite got going after a noteworthy start.
Sam Konstas has had a dream start to his Test career, hitting an audacious 60 on his maiden outing in the Boxing Day Test of the Border Gavaskar Trophy 2024/25. The talent was palpable, and he was supposed to be Australia’s top-order woes, which have exacerbated in recent times.
However, he hasn’t quite got going after a noteworthy start, and the young sensation has been under immense pressure. Since scoring 60 on his debut, Konstas hasn’t crossed the 25-run mark even once in seven attempts and got out after looking good at the start.
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However, the Australian captain Pat Cummins has backed him to come good, but advised him not to focus too much on every innings. He wants Konstas to learn quickly rather than getting stuck on a few failures.
“It’s just about concentrating on what makes you a really good player. For someone like a batter, it might be where you score, what tempo do you normally operate at (when at) your best? And just don’t get too caught up in every innings (feeling) like (it’s) the biggest thing in the world.”
Sam Konstas has been pinpointed as Australia’s opener for the West Indies series, but the returns haven’t been promising from the young batter. He has had scores of 3, 5, 25, & 0 across four outings, suggesting that the batter has not acclimatised to the conditions against a fiery bowling lineup, and his Test average now stands at a tepid 18.25 after eight innings.
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He had a start in the second Test before a loose drive cut his innings short when he could have easily made a substantial score. It’s been a constant issue with Konstas; his front shoulder often falls over, and he tends to play away from his body just with his hands, which has resulted in a few dismissals early in his career.
Another thing he must understand is that Test cricket is about applying for a long period rather than trying too many things, even if they fetch a few runs. Being aggressive is fine, but the primary goal should always be to build innings and look for big runs, especially since he is an opener.
Barring England, the pitches in Test cricket will mostly have something for bowlers, and Konstas’ loose technique won’t help him succeed at the highest level, given most teams have quality pace attacks now. He doesn’t need to change too many things in his game, but the idea should be to stay as long as possible at the crease and look at the bigger picture, as Cummins pointed out.
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