Bridgetown, June 29 Australia head coach Andrew McDonald has urged critics to show a bit of patience and time towards Sam Konstas’ performances, as the young opener is still adjusting to find his feet in Tests.
Konstas, who dazzled on his Test debut against India in the Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, earned a recall for Australia’s series opener against the West Indies at Kensington Oval, which the visitors won by 159 runs in three days. But Konstas had a lean time – making scores of three and five in tricky conditions for batting.
"He's debriefing that, and we've had some conversations around, if you're in that situation again, what does that look like? And that's what experience is; it's learning from previous events and trying to implement a way through that. It felt like he was stuck at times.
"It was over-aggressive and then (he) underplayed and it's really that balance and tempo (that we're after) – he's got that there and that's the step up to Test cricket (where) the pressure is on that.
"He's got a really good partner down the other end (in Khawaja) that over time will play out and that's all we ask for –a bit of patience and time with a young player coming into Test cricket. He knows his deficiencies, but from a batting perspective, I encourage all players to learn to play with their deficiencies," said McDonald to reporters on Sunday.
Konstas’ technique has been a constant topic of debate since he dazzled at the MCG, especially in facing inswinging deliveries. But McDonald is still keen to stick with him. "I don't think there's such a thing as a perfect technique, and if that's what you're looking for, then I think you're looking in the wrong place – he'll learn to play with what he's got.
"We're a team that encourages run scoring – did he lose his intent at certain times in that innings, and was he looking at his defensive layers rather than potentially putting some pressure back on? That's really the balance that he needs to strike and I think he's good enough, it'll just take some time for him to adapt," he added.
McDonald signed off by saying Cameron Green will be the long-term number three batter, but again cautioned that it he would need time to adapt to his new role in the Test line-up. "It feels like he's almost starting his Test career again (because) he's had such a long layoff. He's just trying to find that tempo at Test level.”
“Thirty Test matches in now, he's got the temperament and technique to bat anywhere in that order and what the long-term prospects look like, we see him as number three. He's definitely good enough. It's not that long ago that he got 174 on a difficult wicket in New Zealand," he said.
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