MELBOURNE: On the eve of New South Wales’ first Sheffield Shield match of the season — against South Australia at Cricket Central in Sydney — Sam Konstas was sitting with his batting coach Tahmid Islam for dinner. At that time, the teenager who had just turned 19, has had a pretty decent year.
He had played for Australia U19 and won the World Cup that was hosted in South Africa, and was hoping to lead NSW U19 side to the domestic title. Test cricket was not even in the scheme of things while talking about cricket. Konstas made his first-class debut only last year.
As fate would have it, that week changed everything. The teenager hit centuries in both innings against South Australia, becoming the youngest player to do so in the Sheffield Shield since Ricky Ponting 31 years ago. He also became the third youngest to achieve the feat after Ponting and Archie Jackson. Sir Donald Bradman achieved the same feat when he was 20. Since then, Konstas’s life hit the ff (fast forward) mode. Seventy-seven days and seven first-class matches later, Konstas is all set to become the youngest Test opener ever for Australia when he walks out in front of a sell out crowd on Boxing Day at the MCG. He will eclipse the record held by Jackson (19 years, 149 days).
“Been a bit of a rollercoaster but what’s been super impressive is it hasn’t sort of changed him as a person or the way he goes about things, which again is super special at his age to not read into any of the press and just stay pretty level,” Islam tells this daily.
Initiation into the game
Islam met Konstas when he got into Cranbrook School in his early teen years. They had a couple of training sessions together after which the former Bangladeshi first-class cricketer sat down with Sam’s father Jim and worked out a roadmap. When the long-time batting coach says that the teenager has remained the same, one of the first things that he and many others in Australian cricketing circles refer to is his confidence. It was the first impression Islam had on the youngster and it was visible when Konstas said, “It’s going to be just another day,” while addressing the reporters at the MCG on Monday.
From those two sessions, Islam has been with Konstas in every step and so have Shane and Lee Watson. If Islam took care of the batting side of things, the former Australia all-rounder and captain was his mentor on the mental side of things. Since his retirement Shane has written a book called The Winner’s Mindset, and has also been helping youngsters work on their mental skills. “Shane’s been amazing for Sam. I’ve seen a huge shift in the way he goes about things. Obviously, Shane having had the experience and being one of the legends of the game, he sort of went through that journey. So that’s been really helpful for Sam to sort of pick his brains on how to shut out the noise and stay in the present, which has been a real game-changer for him,” says Islam.
What it has also done is it kept Konstas’ confidence intact. The youngster scoring runs for fun has been the norm, but the way he does it has also remained the same. It was evident even when he scored that hundred against India for Prime Minister XI in Canberra earlier this month.
While one could argue that bravery comes with being young, Konstas also has a measured sense of occasion and maturity. He knows how big this moment is not just for him, but also his parents, who were in tears when Konstas called them with the news of Test call-up last week. Islam has seen from close quarters the sacrifice they have had to make.
Family behind him
With Konstas all set for Boxing Day debut, his parents, brothers, Islam, Watson’s family, every one are expected to fly into Melbourne on Christmas Day and be there to watch the teen sensation live his dream. On Tuesday night, Konstas would be having dinner with Islam ahead of a big occasion, but this time, there might be a little cricket involved.
While life has turned upside down between two dinners Konstas has had with Islam, it’s been only for the better. However, as his batting coach says, he’s remained the same as a person and cricketer.
Full story: newindianexpress.com