Cricket
Racing
Rugby
League
Motorsport
Football
Golf
Combat Sports
Basketball
Netball
Other Sports
Sport Nation
Important SN update for SouthlandBharat: Konstas is flashy and loveable but not a prodigy
Bharat Sundaresan • June 27th, 2025 12:54 pm
"It was torturous.
You bump into Sam Konstas off the field and there’s a charm about him, a warmth about him, something very lovable.
A charming young teenager and he wants to do well. He’s worked really hard.
If (back home in Australia) you think he’s just a flash kid that’s posing topless and having burgers on social media – yes he’s done that - but he’s worked his backside off since coming to Barbados.
This is not because of a lack of effort.
In Test cricket – speak to anyone that has batted in the top order - it all comes down to technique. Clearly there are some obvious technical frailties in Konstas’ batting.
We have seen it a lot in First Class.
The LBW or him getting bowled through the gap. There is a gap in the way he defends, the bat face stays open a little. Because of the way it stays open, so many balls go through the slip region. Others fell short or kept going to gully.
What I would say is when you have those frailties and you’re so young and you have no experience to fall back on. He’s come here in extremely alien conditions. Batting has not been easy for anyone. He’s been exposed. Open bat face and the gap between bat and pad that got him in the first innings.
Will Sam Konstas make it as a Test opener and be that long term opener? There’s no reason to think he won’t, but is he there? He’s not even close that’s just a fact.
He will get two more chances here and they will hope he comes good for the Ashes.
But if he doesn’t make runs here, then questions will be asked as to whether he should play and maybe give him a few years and bring him back. Give him more time.
In Test cricket there is no place to hide. You will get exposed. It’s difficult for someone like him to learn on the job. There's scrutiny and pressure.
He’s learnt in six months you can be the ultimate. People swarmed to see him at the SCG. There's something magnetic about him but now the narrative has changed.
People are asking why he’s been picked and why they’re throwing him in if he doesn’t seem good enough at this level. We have to be patient with him.
Will he be the opener for the first Ashes Test in Perth? I can’t say so with any certainty now.
There’s a romance about him but he’s not (technically sound).
There’s a romance about him but he’s not (technically sound).
We’re not talking about a prodigy here.
It’s opened a can of worms. You feel for Konstas.
You don’t want to see a 19-year-old lose his mind but Test cricket does that to you."
