Australia men's chief selector and former captain George Bailey has expressed sympathy for up-and-coming batter Sam Konstas following his omission from the Test side, while former captain Steve Waugh drew parallels with his own early career as a young player trying to find his footing for the rigours of international cricket.
Konstas endured a challenging tour of the West Indies, scoring just 50 runs across six innings. His struggles continued into the Sheffield Shield season, where he managed only
one half-century in six innings, a run of form that ultimately sealed his fate, as he was not picked in Australia's squad for the first Ashes Test against England at Perth later this month.
Despite the recent setbacks, Konstas has shown promise in the past. He struck a century for Australia A in India and made his Test debut last summer against India at the MCG, where he impressed many by taking on Jasprit Bumrah with confidence. However, he was later omitted for the Sri Lanka series before being recalled to face difficult batting conditions in the Caribbean.
"I feel for Sammy [Konstas] because at the moment, if he farts, it's a headline. There's a handful of young guys his age playing Shield cricket around the country, and they are all learning and are all going through the journey of becoming the best cricketer they can be, and Sammy is no different - he just happens to be doing it under immense scrutiny,” Bailey was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.
"We really like him… he's been in and around the Boxing Day Test, he's been on subcontinent tours, [and] he's been on Aussie A tours. So we like the skillset, and [are] confident over the long run, it will continue to build out. It's not going to be linear - no one's passage through their career is linear - [but] the message is just to keep it simple: score runs and bat for as long as he can for New South Wales. He's got a great outlook on life. He remains incredibly upbeat. The scrutiny on him is almost unprecedented on some levels," he added.
Konstas lacks confident, feels Waugh
Waugh, who spoke alongside the Waterford Crystal Ashes trophy as it begins its tour of Australia, made his Test debut at the age of 20, also against India at the MCG. It took him until his 27th Test, against England at the start of the 1989 Ashes, to score his first century.
Eighteen months later, he was dropped from the side in favour of his twin brother, Mark Waugh. However, after earning a recall, Steve went on to establish himself as one of Australia’s greatest batters, finishing his illustrious career with 32 Test centuries.
"I feel a little bit sorry for Sam Konstas. He's been in and out of the side a bit, and it actually reminds me a bit of myself when I first started playing for Australia. Not fully confident of being in the side, and up and down, and not quite there. So he's probably lacking a bit of confidence,” said Waugh.
"[My advice to Konstas would be] not to listen to everybody. Just trust one or two people around you. Go back to basics. At the end of the day, it's really hard to learn how to play Test cricket while you're playing Test cricket, and that's what happened to me for a few years. I wasn't really that finished product. I'd go back to Shield cricket, try and build some long innings, bat for as long as you can, and just get to know your game really well. And then [when] you walk out to play for Australia, you're confident in what you're doing. I think, at the moment, he's guessing how he's meant to play. There's a lot of expectations, so he's probably not playing with a clear mind,” he added.
Konstas has up to three more Sheffield Shield matches to play before the Big Bash League begins in mid-December. However, Bailey noted that the young batter remains in contention for selection in the Prime Minister’s XI and Australia A fixtures, scheduled during the early stages of the Ashes 2025-26.
