Live by the sword, die by the slog sweep. Sam Konstas did nothing to quieten critics of his aggressive batting style with a bizarre brain explosion of an innings in the Sheffield Shield match between New South Wales and Victoria on Tuesday.
His latest madcap appearance lasted seven balls and included three slogs, 10 runs and a dismissal to Test teammate Scott Boland.
Along with Nic Maddison, the pair took the score to 30 in the second over of the match before Konstas departed, leaving the cricket watching public further bewildered about his temperament.
He was off the mark first ball with a leading edge for two, then ramped Boland’s second ball of the match over slips for four.
Next up he smacked Boland for another four, but the Vic paceman had the last laugh, skittling Konstas’ stumps when the young batsman tried to slog sweep him for another boundary.
Last time out, Konstas scored a brilliant one-day domestic century against Queensland in Brisbane, but this appeared a strange innings in the context of the upcoming World Test Championship final against South Africa, and his recent demotion in Sri Lanka.
“He may be scrambled, but he played with such predetermined aggression that I think you’re entitled to read these seven balls at face value – that’s exactly what he went out there to do,” commentator Gerard Whateley said on SEN.
“That’s not going to, I don’t think, be long-term successful in Test cricket.
“He’s 19, but he is the incumbent Australian opener. So, you have to measure both.
“I hope he’s successful, but I can’t see him being successful playing like that.
“He’s got three Shield games, so five innings to go. If he plays the rest of the Shield season like that, does he open at the World Test Championship? I don’t know the answer to that.
“I just had him as a lock (previously)… I’m a bit rattled by that innings.”
When the tactic paid off against India, it seemed like the whole of Australia was behind him. But social media lit up in anger after his latest dismissal.
“Embarrassing. What a joke of an innings,” one fan wrote on X, while another added: “Sam Konstas … what absolute rubbish. Who is telling this bloke that this is how you play Test cricket?”
News Corp’s chief cricket writer Ben Horne wrote that Konstas’ innings will have Australian selectors “scratching their heads”.
“Sam Konstas risks becoming a casualty of rampitis after 10 minutes of mayhem at the SCG,” he wrote.
“Selectors are beginning to narrow their focus towards who will open the batting for the World Test Championship Final at Lord’s in June, and it’s difficult to know where Konstas stands after a mind-blowing Sheffield Shield innings against Victoria on Tuesday morning that exploded on the tarmac.
“The best of Konstas demands he be picked against South Africa and it was a magnificent sign that the 19-year-old returned from the disappointment of being left out of the Australian XI in Sri Lanka to bang out a fighting one-day hundred for NSW against Queensland at the Gabba.
“But his seven-ball cameo of chaos facing Test champion Scott Boland which ended when he was bowled walking across his stumps attempting a slog sweep, will have the Australian hierarchy scratching their heads.
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