At a time of Twenty20 and impactful innings of 20 balls or so, Sam Konstas has made hundreds his habit.
Any time a 19-year-old makes a Sheffield Shield century, many people stand up and take notice because it is so unexpected. When Sam Konstas did it on Tuesday, gliding to 152 for NSW against South Australia, they took notice because itKonstas made his first century for St George in the under-10s. When he was 15, he scored four tons in eight days across lower grade cricket in Sydney and the Green Shield under-16s competition.
Konstas has had a pair of contrasting mentors. His personal batting coach is Tahmid Islam, a former Bangladesh first-class player who has become a successful mentor in Sydney circles and crossed paths with Konstas after he won a scholarship to attend the prestigious Cranbrook School. In the NSW pathway, Anthony Clark has seen plenty of Konstas while also coaching the national under-19 side to the Cup victory earlier this year. The regularity of big scores from Konstas has been like a drum beat up the age groups.“Between me and a couple of the other pathway coaches, we always look at it like ‘death, taxes and another Sam Konstas hundred’,” Clark said. “He’s just been a run-maker for as long as I’ve known him, and made a lot of hundreds.
Clark can remember watching Konstas, at 17, facing down Billy Stanlake in a second XI game. Few Australian pace bowlers are as tall or as quick, but Konstas handled Stanlake with aplomb. “He faced 242 balls yesterday and I know that they talk about facing 200 balls in the Blues changeroom a lot, and I sent him the scorecard last night with the 242 circled and said ‘that’s the currency and you’ve done it with a bit of GST on the top of it’.”
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