Sam Konstas’ whirlwind Test debut may have made the Aussie sensation a household name – but it’s not “sustainable” long-term, cricket great Mike Hussey has warned.
Konstas is fighting for a spot in Australia’s Ashes squad but looks likely to be overlooked off the back of a lean run of form.
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At just 20 years of age, Konstas was the toast of Australian cricket when he took on the Indian pace attack and won, in his Boxing Day Test debut brilliance.
But less than 12 months on, the NSW prodigy is struggling.
“If I’m being honest I really feel for the young man,” Hussey said on Fox Cricket.
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“Given the opportunity against India, played that amazing innings at the MCG that had us all gobsmacked. But we all knew that was not a sustainable way to be successful in Test match cricket.
“He’s obviously got enormous talent – but he’s still so young. He’s still trying to figure out what his best game looks like.
“Unfortunately for him, he started his Sheffield Shield season here in Perth on a very difficult pitch for batting. Not ideal to get a big score on the board.
“I personally would just love to see Sam go back to Shield cricket – stay there for a year, two years, score lots of runs for New South Wales, learn about his game and then when he’s picked he’s ready to go, and he’s got a lot of runs behind him and a better understanding of his own game.
“Just want to let this kid go and develop slowly and quietly.
“And then when he’s ready, bang! He’s going to go and burst on the scene and have a huge career hopefully for Australia.”
It was a sentiment echoed by fellow ex-Aussie Test star Brad Haddin.
“He’s gone away and he’s changed different techniques in his game,” Haddin said.
“But you don’t want to be doing that – Marnus (Labuschagne) was probably an example for that and we’ve seen what happened when he got away. You don’t want to be doing that under the microscope of Test match cricket.
“He’s still tinkering with what works in his technique.
“And that me says a lot. He’s still got to go back and find his game. Find his game at state level, understand what works for him.”
Haddin said the fact the best Test cricketers were still playing well into their 30s was a sign there was no rush for Konstas.
“Huss and I debuted for Australia at 30! I played 66 Tests – Huss played, probably have played 150 but that’s a different conversation,” he laughed.
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“(Konstas’) best cricket might be when he’s 25 and he’s still got 10 years!
“I don’t think we need to be rushing him into the spotlight until he understands his game.”
Even his NSW coach Greg Shipperd described Konstas as a “baby cricketer in terms of experience”.
But former Test opener David Warner is backing the youngster in, calling on selectors to stick fat.
“He scored that hundred in the Australian A series. He batted outstandingly there,” Warner said at Fox Cricket’s Season Launch.
“I don’t think we’ve seen exactly what we know Sam Konstas can do.
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“Last year, he probably got overwhelmed by the occasion, and we saw some very ‘highlight’ cricket.
“I’ve seen him build innings, I’ve seen him play some fantastic innings, and I’d like to see him go back to just doing that.
“I’d like them to stick with Sam and give him a crack because at the end of the day, I don’t know if it’s a short-term fix if they try and find someone else.”
Since his Australia A century in September, Konstas has averaged just 18 with the bat in Shield cricket.
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