Pat Cummins has advised young opener Sam Konstas to avoid overanalyzing each innings after another lean outing in Australia’s Test series against West Indies. The 19-year-old managed 25 and 0 in Grenada, following low scores in Barbados.
Konstas, who averages just 18.25 from four Tests, is likely to play the final match in Jamaica, a pink-ball Test that adds another layer of challenge. Without a significant innings, his place as opener heading into the Ashes could be uncertain.
“Judge Yourself After a Series”
Cummins emphasized that early failures are part of the journey for any batter.
“𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒑𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒅 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒂 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒐𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒃𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒘𝒆 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒊𝒔 𝒈𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒆𝒏𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉,” 𝑪𝒖𝒎𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒔 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅. “𝑫𝒐𝒏’𝒕 𝒈𝒆𝒕 𝒕𝒐𝒐 𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒖𝒑 𝒊𝒏 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒊𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒊𝒈𝒈𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅.”
He noted even elite batters often fall short of their averages and encouraged Konstas to measure progress over a full series, not individual knocks.
Starc Set for Milestone
While Australia has already secured the series, the final Test remains important for the World Test Championship. Cummins praised Mitchell Starc, who is poised to play his 100th Test, for his enduring pace and commitment.
“𝑯𝒆’𝒔 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒂 𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒐𝒓… 𝒃𝒐𝒘𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 145𝒌𝒑𝒉 𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒂𝒎𝒆,” 𝑪𝒖𝒎𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒔 𝒂𝒅𝒅𝒆𝒅. “𝑨𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒈𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒆𝒍𝒍, 𝒊𝒕’𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆 𝒂 𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒆𝒆𝒌 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒉𝒊𝒎.”
The pink-ball match in Jamaica will be the venue’s first under lights, with both teams awaiting the special Dukes balls for practice. Cummins admitted the conditions could change quickly:
“𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒏𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖’𝒓𝒆 𝒈𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒈𝒆𝒕.”
Despite early challenges in each match, Cummins was pleased with Australia’s dominant results:
“𝑻𝒘𝒐 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒕𝒘𝒐… 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒑𝒖𝒎𝒑𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒘𝒆 𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌.”
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