One of Australia’s all-time great batsman, Allan Border, has urged young opener Sam Konstas to ditch the ramp shot and has questioned whether the 20-year-old is capable of playing a cover-drive.
With the Ashes around the corner, there is no certainty as to who will open alongside Usman Khawaja. While many have urged Cameron Green to open alongside the left-hander, Beau Webster and Matt Renshaw are in the fray. While Konstas’s aggressive style is being viewed as an X-factor against the Bazballers, there are still doubts whether the opener could apply himself and play long. And days after Konstas was dismissed playing a ramp short in a 50-over fixture against Victoria, Border came down hardly on the opener.
“Sam Konstas – I’ve only ever seen him play a ramp shot,” Border told SEN. “Can he cover drive or anything like that? I don’t know. We just haven’t seen it. He’s constantly trying to play this bloody ramp shot. It’s a handy shot to have in the kit bag, but I’d be leaving it there for a while until I’ve got a few on the board first. I’d be saying, ‘Just shelve the ramp shot, just give yourself a chance to get in and just [play] conventionally’. He’s good enough, from what I’m hearing, but I just haven’t seen it yet,” Border said.
And Konstas wasn’t the only batsman who faced some harsh words from the Australian great. Even all-rounder Green, tipped to bat at No 3, faced questions from Border. “I’m just a bit concerned. They want him to bat at No.3 and I just don’t think his technique is suitable for that job. I just can’t see him batting at three,” he added.
And instead of Konstas and Green, Border’s has pressed for the inclusion of fellow Queensland players – Khawaja, Renshaw and Marnus Labuschagne as Australia’s top-three for the first Test starting November 21 in Perth.
“Webster has done nothing wrong since they picked him. That all-round ability, particularly going into Perth, you might need a bit of a back-up to the quickies over there. I’d be locking him [Webster] in at No.6 and Green misses out in my first instance. If Labuschagne opens, you could play Green and Webster – and that wouldn’t be a bad scenario – but whether they want to manufacture the openers [I don’t know].
“Usman is a lock-in for the first couple of Tests at least. I’d be going Renshaw [to partner Khawaja]. He’s back in the one-day team and he’s been scoring runs pretty consistently over the last couple of years – red ball and white ball – and he’s been there, done that,” Border added.