MELBOURNE: Sam Konstas does not yet know whether he will make his debut in the cauldron of the fourth Test against India on Thursday but the Australian teenager says some advice from former opener Shane Watson will hold him in good stead if he does.

The 19-year-old’s parents will be at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Dec 26 along with 59-Test all-rounder Watson and his wife Lee, who manages Konstas, to support the youngster if he gets handed his baggy green cap.

Brought into the squad as a replacement for the peremptorily dumped makeshift opener Nathan McSweeney, Konstas said the advice from Watson about facing the likes of Jasprit Bumrah had been fairly straightforward.

“Just another day at it, back myself and be fearless,” Konstas recalled when he spoke to reporters on Monday. “I admire Shane Watson a lot. I like to take the game on and put pressure on the bowlers. He’s a legend of the game and hopefully I can do that this week on my debut. It’s pretty simple — just back myself and just ‘see ball, hit ball’ really.”

Konstas has been in prolific form in first class cricket this season, including a century against an Indian selection in the tour match in Canberra and a 73 against India “A” on his last visit to the MCG.

After Australia’s top order struggled for runs in the first three Tests of a series that remains in the balance at 1-1, a huge wave of momentum built up behind the case for Konstas’ call-up to the team.

“It’s a huge honour, as a kid I’ve always dreamed of it,” he added. “I’m trying to keep it as simple as possible, get my prep right and see what happens. It’s happened really quick ... I wasn’t too fazed. But I feel like I’m a pretty relaxed person and I’m just trying to live in the moment.”

Published in Dawn, December 24th, 2024