Sam Konstas left Grenada with mixed emotions, a punchy 25 in the first innings followed by a second-innings duck, yet Australia’s coaching staff see enough to keep his Ashes prospects alive. Head coach Andrew McDonald, speaking after the second Test draw against West Indies, urged patience.
“Four games in, eight innings, it’s probably early for anyone to judge, really,” McDonald said. “I think the challenges in Test cricket aren’t necessarily always your skill level or your technique. It’s dealing with the moments, the pressure, all the other things that externally come with that as well. He’s a player finding his feet in the environment.
“[It was] a small step forward in the last game with that first innings. I thought the way he structured up his first 20-odd balls, he had the positive intent, he was moving a lot better compared to the game before where it looked like he was stuck in the middle and didn’t know whether to play a shot and it was either ultra-aggressive or ultra-defensive.”
Konstas keeps his place for the day-night Test at Sabina Park later this week, Jamaica’s first under lights. A substantial contribution there would strengthen his case ahead of a crowded domestic schedule that will shape the Ashes squad.
Early-season shop window
Australia A head to India in late September for two four-day matches, a trip that should offer Konstas – and a handful of fringe batters – robust practice against the moving red ball. Then come four Sheffield Shield rounds before England arrive.
“There’s great opportunity in domestic cricket at the start of the season, and there always is leading into any Test series,” McDonald noted. “We saw with the Border-Gavaskar Trophy last year, there was opportunity for players to put their hand up there. There’s also Australia A [against Sri Lanka A] in the Top End [Darwin] at the moment, so we’re watching that closely…so it’s really about the opportunity that presents.
“First and foremost, we concentrate on what’s right here, right now. Everyone will be speculating around who can come in, what possibilities are, but we’re confident the players that we’ve got here can do the job.”
Conditions in the Caribbean have been tailor-made for fast bowlers – ample sideways movement and uneven bounce rather than the slower, drier surfaces many predicted. McDonald doubts much can be extrapolated directly to the Ashes.
“There’s been a lot of variable bounce and sideways movement, so it’s probably not similar to Australia,” he said. “Maybe some surfaces will be. I think Perth potentially, when it does crack a little bit, it can go up and down and a little bit sideways. But I think the first four rounds of Shield cricket will draw a better connection to the Ashes than what we’re seeing here.
“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.”
Top-order pressure moderated
Usman Khawaja and Marnus Labuschagne both fought through tricky spells, Khawaja still searching for a method to the sustained around-the-wicket assault he now faces almost every innings. While neither posted a big score in Grenada, the pair soaked up enough deliveries to blunt West Indies’ new-ball threat and allow Cameron Green’s counter-attacking 88 to swing momentum Australia’s way on day two.
The middle order looks settled, yet spare batting positions for the Ashes remain tantalisingly open. Marcus Harris, Pete Handscomb and Matt Renshaw are pencilled in for Australia A, and each knows that a glut of early Shield runs will carry weight with selectors.
Bowling picture clearer
On the bowling front, Lance Morris continued his encouraging return from a side strain, sending down sharp spells in both innings and touching 150kph. Spencer Johnson, preferred to Scott Boland for Grenada, impressed with sustained aggression but struggled for rhythm under lights. The pecking order behind Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood feels established, although conditions later in the year will dictate whether a genuine quick or a hit-the-seam option travels to Brisbane for the Ashes opener.
Spin was largely peripheral in the Caribbean, where Nathan Lyon operated more as a containing option than a genuine wicket-taker. Todd Murphy bowled just 14 overs in Grenada, a reminder that Australia may yet tour England with a single specialist spinner if early-season Shield pitches mirror recent lively trends.
Konstas’ next move
Konstas, 22, accepts the scrutiny. The right-hander tinkered with his guard after edging behind twice at Port-of-Spain, a minor adjustment that produced crisper drives and a calmer set-up in Grenada. Coaches feel the blueprint is sound; the challenge is converting starts into match-defining scores.
By the time England land in November, selectors hope to have four rounds of domestic evidence, Australia A performances and perhaps one or two Shield hundreds as decisive markers. For now, Konstas has one more Test to make a persuasive statement on away soil.
If he does, the step from promise to permanence could be short. Fail, and the domestic queue grows ever longer. That, as McDonald hinted, is Test cricket’s unforgiving rhythm: perform, or watch someone else take your spot.
