McDonald's Konstas admission as fast bowlers' fitness examined for Sydney
As attention moves to Sydney, Australia coach Andrew McDonald rates his debutant's performance and hints little change for final Test.
Australia men's head coach Andrew McDonald admits even he was surprised by a brash first impression from Sam Konstas during his Test debut at the MCG.
Taking on India pace ace Jasprit Bumrah early on Boxing Day with an array of non-conventional shots, 19-year-old Konstas' 60 (65) delivered an early blow for the hosts, who enjoyed most of the enthralling five-day encounter in front of their opposition.
Laying a platform for the rest of the batting order, Australia powered to a first innings total of 474, in no small part helping the hosts to a 184-run victory four days later.
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After the win, McDonald confessed that not even he had pictured what was to come after his captain won the toss and elected to bat on the first morning.
"I suppose the conversation was how early was he going to get into those proactive shots, and twelfth ball did surprise me a little bit," McDonald admitted, having only crossed paths with Konstas in passing in the build-up to the summer, preparing for the Test match in the MCG nets and in brief team meetings.
โWe 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.
โHis ability to put pressure on, and I think people talk about heavy duty runs in the first innings, and he put the pressure back on and allowed our middle order to get to work.
"And Steve Smith capitalised on that and Marnus (Labuschagne) was good, so it set the tone. Thereโs no doubt about that. I thought that combination of top looked like something going forward that could work.โ
The only player under the age of 30 in the winning XI, the right-hander was able to feed off the likes of fellow opener Usman Khawaja, Steve Smith and skipper Pat Cummins, who too debuted as a teen for Australia, against South Africa back in 2011.
Looking at Konstas' experience from a coach's point of view, the lessons from the match bode well for an even sharper rise as an international cricketer boasting such a memorable first taste in Australian whites.
โThereโs no doubt when youโre talking about a team thatโs sort of going through transition, if you want to frame it that way, the ability to immerse yourself with those senior players through that period is incredibly important.
โSo heโs going to be a better player by being in the environment (and around) the conversations that happen, the nuances to the game. I think thatโs incredibly important on that journey to learning.
Looking to the rest of the playing stock for Sydney, the rigours of the first four Border-Gavaskar Tests and the quick turnaround for the January 3 start in Sydney means a stern examination on the fitness of the group, particularly for the side's fast bowling stocks.
While McDonald noted tabs will be kept on Mitchell Starc, the left-armer's finish to the Test match suggests he will be ready for a home SCG visit.
โClearly bowling last (in what) was pretty attritional game, (which is) something that weโre not used to in the last few years, weโll see how the bodies are,โ he said.
โClearly Starc is carrying something of some description. Weโll assess that. But other than that, it looks as though we got through pretty well unscathed but (it is a) short turnaround and recovery is important, and weโll assess what the team looks like in Sydney based upon the surface, as we always do.โ
โAnytime you get through the game, itโs always a good indicator that youโre a chance at the next game. It didnโt stop him."
โClearly there was a little bit of discomfort early on in spells, but once he got warm, it seemed as though he was pretty free. His ball speeds were good."