Australian batter Sam Konstas had impressed with two centuries in his 11 First Class matches apart from a century in the PM XI-India match earlier this month. (CA)
With Australian openers Usman Khawaja and Nathan McSweeney without a half-century in the first three Test matches of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy with both the openers failing once again during Australia’s second innings at the Gabba on Wednesday, there have been concerns over the opening pair.
While McSweeney had edged out contenders like Sam Kontas, Cameron Bancroft and Marcus Harris for a spot in the Australian squad for the series, 19-year-old Kontas has yet again impressed former cricketers with his record-breaking half-century during his Big Bash League debut on Tuesday night.
Kontas became the youngest player to score a half-century on BBL debut with his 27-ball 56 run knock for Sydney Thunders against Adelaide Strikers. Former England cricketer Michael Vaughan has urged the Australian selectors to ‘get him in quite quickly’. “If you go through Big Bash history the last few years and you look at young players coming in and you think: ‘Is there really any star quality?’ Well last night we saw something quite special. There’s always a want and a will to talk about what could go wrong in a young player. But I look at Sam Konstas and think ‘they’ve got to get him in quite quickly’, because he has got the ceiling to be world-class. You look at the movements, you look at his skill levels, the flow of the bat, the little tricks … He can seriously play. He just looks like he’s got modern flair in the modern game that should hold him well in all formats of the game,” Vaughan told Fox Cricket.
The 19-year-old Sydney cricketer had impressed with two centuries in his 11 First Class matches apart from a century in the rain-curtailed PM XI-India match earlier this month. The opener, who had played in the middle-order in the two unofficial Test matches against India A, had also made a half-century in the series. Vaughan also stressed that Kontas could be given a home ground Test debut in the New year Test at Sydney during the last match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. “I think they’ve done the right thing by leaving him out of this series. I think he’s a wonderful talent and he’s got a huge future. But if there’s a few failures between now and Sydney, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him make his debut at his home venue at the SCG … I would think that he could play at the SCG,” said Vaughan.
Konstas’s knock on Tuesday night also drew praise from former Australian cricketer Michael Hussey. “What an innings. Amazing performance. He’s 19 years of age, big stage, and he’s hardly mistimed a ball. Played some beautiful shots, he’s innovative, and showed some power as well. It’s been a class innings,” Hussey told Fox Cricket.
Former Australian opener Mark Waugh too chipped in during the commentary with his praise for Kontas. “Sam Konstas showed us his great array of shots. For a young man, he looks so confident.” Waugh said on Fox Cricket.
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