Australia’s captain Pat Cummins has thrown his full support behind young opener Sam Konstas despite a challenging debut against the West Indies, as the visitors triumphed by 159 runs to claim victory in the first Test on Friday.
Konstas, the highly-rated 19-year-old, struggled in both innings, scoring just three runs in the first and five in his second, but Cummins remains confident the Sydney-born right-hander will come good at the international level.
“One of the hard things about playing Test cricket is you get thrown different conditions all the time,” Cummins explained. “You might not have the flying hours under your belt as a youngster coming in, so you’ve got to come in and work out your craft on the bigger stage.”
“The hardest thing when the pitch is doing a lot is getting out of your little bubble, trying to score and take good options, which is really hard in these conditions. You saw today how hard it can be to fire a few shots. Sammy tried a few different options yesterday, not too many worked out. But (I have) full confidence,” added the Australian captain.
Konstas and fellow young batter Cameron Green, who batted at number three, both faced struggles in the first innings. However, Australia’s strong middle-order performances from Travis Head, Beau Webster, and Alex Carey ensured they were on track for a comfortable win.
Set a target of 301 for victory, the West Indies were left with little hope as Josh Hazlewood put on a bowling masterclass. Hazlewood claimed five wickets for just 43 runs, leading the hosts to be dismissed for a paltry 141, with the match wrapping up two days early.
“The wicket was playing a lot of tricks,” said Cummins. “I thought we might make decent in-roads, but I didn’t think we’d get 10. Always nice to get a couple of days off.”
Cummins was full of praise for the efforts of Head, Webster, and Carey, whose batting performances played a pivotal role in the Australian win.
“I thought those three were brilliant. They kept the scoreboard ticking over. They took really good options and they were always looking to score. That was the difference,” said the Australian captain.
“We turned up today thinking that we wouldn’t get a big lead, it was 50-50 really, and those guys took the game away from West Indies. I thought all three of those were really impressive.”
With the series now firmly in Australia’s grasp, the West Indies will be hoping to regroup before the second Test.