Sam Konstas: Teenage Australia opener’s journey to India Test in Melbourne
Konstas may have failed on the first two spoons but he soon tried again and hit world number one bowler Bumrah for a six and two fours from Reached 60 off 65 balls.
The shots marked one of the most dramatic starts to a Test career in recent memory – with a long-time leading batsman achieving cult hero status within minutes.
Because, while Constas’ rise to the highest level has been explosive, the journey to get there has been a long one.
He was a Greek kid from suburban Sydney who was scoring hundreds before reaching double figures at age.
In October, he became the youngest player since the great Ricky Ponting to score hundreds per innings in Australia’s first-class Sheffield Shield match.
Two years ago, a month after his 17th birthday, Constas became the youngest batsman to score a century for Sutherland in Sydney’s first-class cricket.
Who was the previous holder of this record? A certain Steve Smith.
Sutherland captain Tom Doyle said: “I remember not being too surprised that he did it.”
The talent was always there and so were those tackles.
“We played a T20 game and he hit a hundred in the U21 game in the morning,” Doyle said, recalling another of Constas’ innings as a 17-year-old.
“I remember him getting beaten and then he started attacking like he did against some pretty intimidating first-year bowlers in Australia.”
Many international players have graced the club’s pavilion, including Smith, Shane Watson, West Indies legends Andy Roberts and Glenn McGrath, among others.
When Constas arrived in 2022 as a 17-year-old from St George’s, the club where the great Sir Don Bradman once played, the move hit the newspapers, as did the hoopla around him.
“It’s hard to compare,” Doyle said. “From a talent level perspective, there’s no doubt Sam is on par.
“He’s on an upward curve and he’s getting better and better every game.”
People who knew Constas described him as polite and hard-working.
While attending Cranbrook School, he first met Islam as a teenager – a former first-class cricketer and batting consultant to the school’s cricket body.
He and Islam speak every day and practice together countless times a week, while Watson, an all-rounder who capped 307 times for Australia, has become a mentor to Constas in his mental approach.
“What really stood out was when I was playing in the Rugby Grand Final, Sammy kept ringing me,” Islam said.
“He was not happy with the way he was hitting the ball in training at the club, had a match the next day and wanted to have a net session at 6am before the match.
“I remember I’ve never seen someone with such desire and desire to make sure he’s ticked every box and given himself the best chance.
“He played about an hour and a half in that game and scored 205 points.”
