by Before Christmas even arrives, Boxing Day has more anticipation than usual, in more ways than one. Australia and India are 1-1 with two Tests remaining, the first at the MCG where India have won on their last two tours. Ticketing forecasts say it will be a full house, weather forecasts say it will hit 40C, and while the latter could knock out the former, it’s the first time all tickets have been claimed since the Ashes of 2013. Amidst all this is the likelihood of a Test debut opening the batting for a 19-year-old, with Sam Konstas expected to be announced soon.
Related: ‘See-ball, hit-ball’: Sam Konstas to put pressure on Jasprit Bumrah in Boxing Day Test
Older generations will remember Doug Walters’ debut at 19, and some will remember Neil Harvey doing the same. There have been a few modern bolters at a young age, such as Ashton Agar or Matthew Renshaw, and Konstas will benefit from a captain in Pat Cummins who made his debut at 18. In terms of substantial modern batting careers, however, Konstas is most reminiscent of Phillip Hughes, who played Sheffield Shield cricket at 18, and Ricky Ponting who did the same at 17. Both were part of the Test team at 20 years old.
Konstas hasn’t had the years to make a name for himself, but has instead risen to prominence this season with some big innings in a national batting scene that is currently underwhelming. But the prodigy that has been spoken about in recent months echoes the other two, an echo that Konstas began with twin centuries against South Australia. Ponting was the youngest to make tons of Twin Shield when he was 18, Hughes the youngest to do so during testing. Ponting spoke about the similarities and differences in Melbourne on Sunday night during an event with The Final Word podcast, saying his brief relationship with Konstas showed a self-confidence and swagger that Ponting didn’t have at the same age.
“The kid’s got some game and he’s got a bit of him, so let’s hope he makes his debut now,” Ponting said. “Before they chose the Test team, I was put on the spot and told them to go ahead and choose him in a radio interview. And I finished the interview and I thought, ‘He hasn’t played a single game in Perth, hasn’t played a Shield game in Brisbane, hasn’t played a game in Brisbane yet. pink ball, and there, I push him to lead the way.” the stick in these places against Bumrah. So I retracted that about two weeks later and said, “You’d better go with McSweeney, I think.”
The Australian selectors first selected Nathan McSweeney, who spared Konstas these three difficult assignments and prepared him to play in Melbourne and Sydney. If we can be frank, the week of Christmas dinner the South Australian captain was handed a shit sandwich: he was asked to bat out of position, at the top of the order, against the one of the best fast bowlers in history, who has been on a tear every time he takes the ball – in five innings of bowling this series, Jasprit Bumrah has 21 wickets at 10.
Selection chairman George Bailey defended the experiment by saying it doesn’t matter where players bat in the order, a proposition that seems rather absurd after tens of thousands of games first class involved the use of specialist openers. This job requires a special set of skills, if a player like Bumrah is not to become a nightmare.
Related: ‘Super confident’: Teenage sensation Sam Konstas ready to duel Jasprit Bumrah in Boxing Day Test
Now on his third tour of Australia, Bumrah has taken 53 wickets on these shores at a cost of 17.15 runs each, with a wicket every 41 balls. In 148 years of Test cricket in this country, no visitor with so many wickets has taken them so cheaply or so frequently.
To find anyone even close, you have to go back to the open runs of the 1880s: Billy Bates took 50 wickets at 4:42 p.m., Billy Barnes took 33 at 3:42 p.m. and George Lohmann took 41 at 11:65 a.m. And yet, none had such a low strike rate. Incredibly, even if you remove all the qualifying criteria to filter out the anomalies, Bumrah is still 19th on best visiting averages, mostly behind bowlers who have played one or two matches, or part-timers who have only played only three overs.
This is what the new kid will be faced with, who could strike on the first morning in front of 90,000 people with thermometers already exceeding 30 degrees. Whatever bluster he has, it will surely be put to the test. Still, if you think he’s going to sweat, take your mind back to Ponting and consider this: Konstas’ debut would be the first time an Australian team has fielded a player born after losing the 2005 Ashes. Digest that with your leftovers . In a world that is always evolving, and an Australian team that will soon evolve with it, this is a seismic wheel-roll.
