Border-Gavaskar Trophy: Captain and coach back ‘fast learner’ Sam Konstas to build on sell-out debut

Sam Konstas ramped, talked and shimmied his way into the hearts of Australian cricket.

By the end of the morning session on day one of his debut, the 19-year-old sensation had the Melbourne Cricket Ground eating from the palm of his hand.

On Friday he gets the chance to back it up in his second Test, at his home ground.

Teammates, including captain Pat Cummins and coach Andrew McDonald, have lauded the way he settled into a group where he is the only teenager and every other player is above 30.

He stood up to a fuming Virat Kohli on the first morning as he took the attack up to Indian new-ball wizard Jasprit Bumrah and in the first 65 balls of his Test career he completely changed the dynamic of the battle between Australia’s top-order and the best fast bowler in the world.

In a mid-innings interview, he even declared he wanted Bumrah to come back on, soon after he took him for 18 in an over.

Now the immense public interest in his debut has simmered in the short break between matches, the next big thing in Australian cricket has the chance to get into his work.

His first time out was so impressive it even McDonald and the selectors got more than they bargained for.

“We knew what we were getting into. As selectors, you follow that journey. Did we get a little bit more than what we expected? No doubt about that,” he said after the classic Melbourne victory.

“We knew what we were getting ourselves into, I suppose the conversation was how early was he going to get into those proactive shots, 12th ball did surprise me a little bit.”

Konstas’ assault on Bumrah was the first time all series Australia’s openers had set a decent platform for the middle order, including Steve Smith, who scored 140 and Marnus Labuschagne, who hit 72.

All of the top four batters made half-centuries.

“His ability to put pressure on and I think people talk about heavy-duty runs in first innings and he put pressure back on and allowed our middle order to get to work,” McDonald said.

“Steve Smith capitalised on that, Marnus was good, so it set the tone, there’s no doubt about that.

“I thought that combination at the top looked like something that going forward could work.”

It was evident even before the Test, when families spent Christmas Day together at the MCG, that Konstas had slid straight into the cultural fabric of a national team that has gone through almost no change for three years.

McDonald made a rare admission that his highly successful team was in “transition”, with 25-year-old Nathan McSweeney also handed a chance this series.

Beau Webster will also debut in the Sydney Test, replacing Mitch Marsh as the all-rounder.

Konstas never strayed too far from captain Pat Cummins during the Melbourne Test. He was under his nose when it came time to deliberate reviews and celebrate wickets.

He also spent time working with Labuschagne and Smith in the nets.

“There’s no doubt when you’re talking about a team that is going through transition — if you want to frame it that way — the ability to immerse yourself with those sort of players through that period is incredibly important, so he is going to be a better player while being in the environment, the conversations that happen, the nuances to the game,” McDonald said.

“I think that’s incredibly important to that journey. Can he get that at Shield Cricket? There’s no doubt he can, but when you go to that level up, the exposure to this level, I think it creates different conversations.

“I think he’s a fast learner, so I think he’s on the right path.”

Cummins said he didn’t want Konstas to lose his no-fear mindset.

“He has been awesome, he has been great fun. I was saying before I have always felt like one of the younger guys in the team, but seeing Sammy geeing up the crowd, I feel quite old,” he said.

“He was unreal, I think the bravery that he showed on day one, but there is a bit of process behind that as well. It’s ‘I could hang around here and probably wait to nick a ball to the slip, or I can try and put some pressure back on the bowler and take the game on’.

“He has just got that no-fear kind of mindset, which is amazing and I hope he keeps that. I really love what he has brought to the team. He takes the game on, revs up the crowd, doesn’t shy away from any contest. He has had a great week.”