Thirty-eight balls of torture: Konstas is stuck in two minds

The Age

2 days ago

Barbados: Form in the cricket nets is a bit like investment advice: past performance is not necessarily a reliable indicator of future returns.
But in the case of Sam Konstas, there was a moment on Sunday in Barbados that hinted the teenage sensation might not be in ideal touch ahead of the first Test against the West Indies.
Part-timer Marnus Labuschagne found Konstas' outside edge with a medium pace outswinger at Australia's first net session since a surprise defeat to South Africa in the World Test Championship final.
Were his feet not moving properly? Was his balance slightly off? Were his hands not in the right position?
Who could blame Konstas? He hasn't played a first-class match in more than three months. He's played just four since the first week of January, averaging 22.63 from eight innings.
Scores of three and five at Kensington Oval against a fired-up Shamar Joseph on Wednesday and Thursday rounded out a difficult week for the man touted as Australian cricket's next golden boy.
This latest examination – 38 balls across a painstaking 53 minutes – was the antithesis of his fireworks at the MCG, when he ramped Jasprit Bumrah with a bravado not seen since David Warner belted Dale Steyn around the same ground on his T20 debut.
Right now, Konstas looks caught between identities. He knows he can switch gears and take bowlers on, but he also wants to prove he can cut it as a classical opener.