Sam Konstas can become a highly successful Test opener by being aggressive but he will not last long if he continues to bat in a reckless fashion.
Konstas was a whirlwind of attacking shots on day two of the fifth Test but there was an air of inevitability about his innings coming to an end quickly.
And that proved to be the case when he was out for 23 off 38 deliveries after nicking Mohammed Siraj to gully while trying to drive a swinging ball well away from his body.
Konstas had managed to middle one of his trademark reverse ramps off Jasprit Bumrah the previous over for four.
That shot is fine, as long as it works, but some of the other slogs Konstas played – agricultural cross-bat swings across the line – were high-risk shots when his team needed him to play the percentages.
In the same over he also swung wildly to square leg and was fortunate that his leading edge just went wide of the mid-off fielder.
Australia’s previous coach, Justin Langer, on Seven commentary warned that Konstas was playing a dangerous game the ball before he was dismissed by wafting at Siraj’s outswingers as they hooped past the outside edge.
His successor, Andrew McDonald, needs to rein in Konstas’ cavalier approach because after they had already lost Marnus Labuschagne for two on top of Usman Khawaja’s dismissal late on day one, his departure left the Aussies in a precarious position at 3-35 in reply to India’s 185.
Konstas’ impetuosity also meant Travis Head was exposed to the new ball in just the 12th over of the innings and he nicked off later in that over for four, in turn giving debutant Beau Webster a baptism of fire with his first bat in Test cricket.
McDonald is renowned for being a player’s coach but he needs to ensure Konstas does not get carried away with the emotion of the occasion every time he goes to the crease.
It’s got to be tough, perhaps overwhelming, for a 19-year-old with only a year of first-class cricket on his resume to be able to cope with the hoopla of Test cricket, particularly when your first two matches are sell-outs at the MCG and SCG with the Border-Gavaskar Trophy on the line.
Sam Konstas takes a swing at the SCG. (Photo by Morgan Hancock – CA/Cricket Australia via Getty Images)
Konstas is exactly what the Australian camp has been longing for – fresh blood to kick-start the next generation of the team and a fearless approach.
His 60 on debut in Melbourne was the perfect example of how his counter-attacking style can pay off. But his eight in the second dig and his 23 at the SCG are likely to be the norm if he cannot strike the right balance in his batting.
On the recent 10-year anniversary of Phillip Hughes’, one of the recurring themes as teammates and commentators looked back on the tragedy was that the selectors at the time did not appreciate the unique talent they had on their hands with the brash young opener.
He was dropped prematurely early in his career and spent the rest of it trying to adjust and re-adjust his style of play to suit the selectors.
McDonald needs to step in now with Konstas to let him know how he does not need to reinvent his technique or change his approach altogether but become more aware of when it’s right to unveil the T20-style shots and when the team needs him to be more focused on occupying the crease.
This will mean he not only keeps his spot in the side for the upcoming tour to Sri Lanka and beyond, but becomes the long-term opener that the Aussies need, particularly with Khawaja twice his age and barely managing to maintain his own position in the line-up.
For all his faults which led to his ouster, Langer would not have been backward in coming forward in telling Konstas that his current methods are too haphazard to succeed in the Test arena.
“There’s aggression but you must play your percentages,” he said.
“The drive on this pitch when the ball is swinging away and bouncing is likely to feed the slips. You might get one or two away but the Indians would be happy for any of the Australians to keep doing that.”
Before the start of play on day two, former Australian fast bowler Stuart Clark, who has had plenty to do with Konstas at his club side Sutherland and in the junior representative ranks over the past few years, said on ABC Radio that he was surprised by his high-octane approach to his batting and his confrontational attitude towards the Indians.
Konstas was involved in a verbal spat with Bumrah late on day one when he stepped in to delay the game because Khawaja was not ready to face up and was given an almighty spray by several Indian players when the veteran left-hander fell on the last ball of the day.
Clark said runs and wickets are the greatest commodity in Test cricket and unless Konstas keeps performing like his 60 on debut, “people will start getting fed up” with antics like switching bails and antagonising opponents “and that’s what worries me about Sam”.
“He’s a really good player and he has a wonderful technique. He scores runs at all levels of the game – he actually doesn’t need to do it but he obviously feels that’s his role. Maybe they’ve given him that role in the team to be the confrontational guy in the team, I don’t know.”
Australia have a potential priceless commodity in their midst in the form of this batting phenom but it is vital that the coach makes sure his prodigious talent doesn’t go to waste.
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