Test legend Steve Waugh says the current fortunes of Sam Konstas remind him of his own difficult early years in Test cricket.
Incumbent opener Konstas was today dumped from Australia’s Test squad ahead of the first NRMA Insurance Ashes Test in Perth, beginning November 21, with selectors preferring the uncapped Jake Weatherald and Marnus Labuschagne, who was dropped from the playing XI this winter, as potential partners for Usman Khawaja.
It is the second time inside 12 months the 20-year-old has felt the selectors’ axe; after debuting last Boxing Day, he was omitted from a two-Test series in Sri Lanka and the World Test Championship final against South Africa, before he returned to the side for three Tests against West Indies in June-July.
“I feel for Sammy – I feel like at the moment if he farts, it’s a headline,” said chief selector George Bailey. “We really like him … we like the skill set there, (we’re) confident that over the long run it’ll continue to build out.
“It’s not going to be linear – no-one’s passage through their career is linear – but the message is just to keep it simple, and score runs and bat for as long and as helpful a way as you can for New South Wales.”
It will be 40 years next month since Waugh debuted as a 20-year-old, also on Boxing Day, making scores of 13 and 5 against India. During a tough period in Australian cricket, the young New South Welshman kept his place in the Test side but did so with little certainty, going 26 matches – during which he averaged 30.52 – without breaking through for a century until the dam finally burst during the 1989 Ashes.
Konstas positively exploded out of the blocks with a spectacular 60 on the opening morning of last year’s Boxing Day Test against India, but it was slim pickings thereafter, with just 103 runs in nine innings.
Ever since, the ramp-hitting, social-media friendly youngster has been under a harsh spotlight (Bailey described the interest in him as “almost unprecedented”) while at the crease he has at times appeared betwixt and between with which approach he should be taking.
“He actually reminds me of myself when I first started playing for Australia,” Waugh said. “Not fully confident of being in the side, up and down, form not quite there – so he’s probably lacking a bit of confidence.
“I’d go back to Shield cricket, try and build some long innings – bat for as long as you can, and just get to know your game really well. That way when you walk out to play for Australia, you’re confident in what you’re doing.
“I think right now he’s probably guessing how he should play, there’s a lot of expectations, so he’s probably not playing with a clear mind.
“(Don’t) listen to everybody. Just trust one or two people around you. Go back to basics. At the end of the day, it’s really hard to learn how to play Test cricket while you’re playing Test cricket. That’s what happened to me for a couple of years. I wasn’t really that finished product.”
Konstas looks set to continue to open for the Blues – beginning with a Sheffield Shield clash against Victoria at the SCG from next Monday – while Bailey added he was in the mix for more representative opportunities as the summer unfolds, including Australia A, Cricket Australia XI and Prime Minister’s XI matches against the England Lions.
Tour matches during Ashes series
November 21-25: CA XI v England Lions, Lilac Hill, Perth
November 29-30: Prime Minister’s XI v England, Manuka Oval, Canberra (D/N)
December 5-8: Australia A v England Lions, AB Field, Brisbane
“Every conversation with Sam is a joy – he’s got a great outlook on life, remains incredibly upbeat,” he said. “(We wanted to) check in, see how he’s feeling about the start of the year, what his focus is at the moment, and then just more what we could do to support him going forward and what we’d like to see.
“And as complicated as we try and make cricket, really it’s about runs.”
2025-26 NRMA Insurance Men’s Ashes
First Test: November 21-25, Perth Stadium, 1.30pm AEDT
Second Test: December 4-8, The Gabba, Brisbane (D/N), 3.30pm AEDT
Third Test: December 17-21: Adelaide Oval, 11am AEDT
Fourth Test: December 26-30: MCG, Melbourne, 10.30am AEDT
Fifth Test: January 4-8: SCG, Sydney, 10.30am AEDT
Australia squad: (First Test only): Steve Smith (c), Sean Abbott, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Brendan Doggett, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Starc, Jake Weatherald, Beau Webster
England squad: Ben Stokes (c), Harry Brook (vc), Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, Jacob Bethell, Brydon Carse, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Joe Root, Jamie Smith (wk), Josh Tongue, Mark Wood
