Australia’s head coach, Andrew McDonald, saw promising signs from young batter Sam Konstas during the second Test against the West Indies and has stated that there will be ample opportunities for players to stake their claims for Ashes selection early in the domestic season and through Australia A fixtures.
Konstas scored a composed 25 in Grenada’s first innings before being dismissed for a duck in a brief second-inning appearance late in the second day. Despite the varied results, McDonald is still enthusiastic about the youngster’s future. Konstas is scheduled to appear in the last Test at Sabina Park, which will be the venue’s first-ever day-night Test, giving him the opportunity to finish the series on a positive note.
“It’s probably too early to judge after four games and eight innings. I believe that the challenges in Test cricket are not always based on your talent level or technique. It is dealing with the moments, the pressure, and all of the other external factors that come with it. “He’s a player finding his feet in the environment,” McDonald told.
“It was a modest step forward in the last game with that first inning. I think the way he organised his first 20-odd balls, he had positive intent, and he was moving a lot better than the previous game, where it appeared like he was caught in the centre, unsure whether to play a shot that was either ultra-aggressive or ultra-defensive,” he continued.
Konstas is set to play four-day matches on Australia A’s tour of India in late September before returning for the Sheffield Shield’s opening rounds in early October. Four Shield rounds are scheduled ahead of the Ashes series.
“There is plenty of chance in domestic cricket at the start of the season, as there is before any Test series. Last year’s Border-Gavaskar Trophy provided an opportunity for players to put their hands up. We’re keeping an eye on Australia A’s match against Sri Lanka A in Darwin right now.
“So it’s all about the opportunity,” McDonald explained.
“First and foremost, we focus on what’s happening right now. Everyone will be speculating about who will come in and what the possibilities are, but we are sure that the guys we have here can do the job,” he said.
McDonald stated that it may be tough to draw significant inferences from this visit in terms of the Ashes, despite the fact that the series has been dominated by fast bowling rather than spin.
“There has been a lot of varying bounce and sideways movement, so it’s definitely not comparable to Australia. Perhaps certain surfaces will be. I believe Perth has the capacity to go up and down as well as sideways if it cracks somewhat. But I believe the first four rounds of Shield cricket will have a stronger relationship to the Ashes than what we’re witnessing today,” McDonald added.
“What we are seeing here, though, is people getting exposed at Test level, and within that exposure, the mental challenges of Test cricket are real,” according to him.
Australia’s top order is still under scrutiny as Usman Khawaja struggles, but Cameron Green‘s half-century alleviated concerns. According to the head coach, Australia won both Tests by comfortable margins. Despite being evenly balanced after two days, the West Indies crumbled in both second innings, completing only 34.3 overs in Grenada and 33.4 overs in Barbados.
“For every failure in the top level, the middle order has been able to get us out of those difficulties, and vice versa. We’ve had occasions where the top-order thrived while the middle-order may not have produced as expected,” McDonald added.
“Ultimately, the game of cricket is about matching the bowling to the batting. At the time, we are doing that. We are discovering ways to get through it. Would we like to see more output from the top order? There is no dispute about that. And those players would want more runs. But they will arrive. We successfully navigated the West Indies’ batting order. “And they’ve been significant victories,” he continued.
McDonald stated that he does not expect any changes to the group for the last Test, which will be Mitchell Starc’s 100th appearance, although player evaluations will be conducted upon arrival in Jamaica. Once the contest begins, it will be decided whether or not to release Marnus Labuschagne from the squad.
Labuschagne has the choice of rejoining Glamorgan for the County Championship or travelling to Darwin for the second four-day game against Sri Lanka A, which begins July 20. However, resting him ahead of the August ODI series against South Africa is also under consideration.
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