Border delivers damning verdict on Konstas, says Green should be axed for first Ashes Test
Australian great Allan Border has implored Sam Konstas to ditch the ramp shot for good, questioning whether the young batsman can even play a cover drive, and believes Cameron Green should be axed for the opening Ashes Test next month.
Border’s comments come as another former Test captain, Ricky Ponting, declared Beau Webster should feature in the first Ashes Test even if Green can bowl, while Greg Chappell argued for Matt Renshaw to partner Usman Khawaja with Marnus Labuschagne at three.
Ponting said it was too early to know which way selectors would go at the top of the order but noted Konstas hadn’t been scoring as many runs as he would like. The 20-year-old has posted first-class scores of four, 14, zero and 53 for NSW across two matches against Western Australia and Victoria.
Border, meanwhile, unleashed on Konstas during an interview on SEN on Wednesday, days after the youngster was bowled by Victoria’s Cameron McClure playing a ramp shot in a one-day match.
“Sam Konstas – I’ve only ever seen him play a ramp shot,” Border told hosts Ian Healy and Corey Parker. “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 also said selectors should make what would be a shock call to drop all-rounder Green from the XI, arguing the 26-year-old doesn’t have the technique to bat at first drop in an Ashes series.
Even if Green isn’t bowling, his place in the side is far from certain, according to Border, who wants an all-Queensland top three of Matt Renshaw, Usman Khawaja and Labuschagne for the first Test starting November 21.
“I’m just a bit concerned,” said Border of Green. “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’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.’
Allan Border
“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.”
Speaking in Melbourne, former skipper and selector Chappell also pushed for Renshaw to open with Khawaja.
“It seems Khawaja is a lock for the first Test, so finding someone synergistic to bat with Khawaja [is important]. I would go with Renshaw,” Chappell said on Wednesday at the launch of his new book,
The Chappell Chronicles.
“He’s played a bit of Test cricket, so he’s not a novice. [Jake] Weatherald coming into his first Test match is asking a fair bit, as they did of Konstas last Boxing Day.
“I don’t think Konstas has had the chance to prove himself at this stage, so it is a bit of a risk taking him into the Test match. I certainly wouldn’t be tempted to experiment again with Labuschagne as an opener. He’s making runs, so he’s got No.3 locked away.
“[Renshaw] is a much different, more mature cricketer from the one who played Test cricket years ago. They picked him in the one-day squad, so they must have him in mind somewhere and want him around the squad.
“Understanding a little bit of the way things have worked, they like to have players around the one-day squad going into the Test match to be around the group. I would find it strange if they didn’t pick him.”
Chappell’s preference is for Green to play at No.6 ahead of Webster, provided he can bowl the few extra overs Australia may require. He also suggested Travis Head should captain this series as the most likely long-term skipper, but acknowledged that
Steve Smith works well as a short-term replacement for Pat Cummins in a big series.
There has been speculation that Webster could be squeezed out despite his strong start to his Test career, but Ponting insists the Tasmanian should retain his place regardless of Green’s fitness.
“We know that he [Green] hasn’t bowled for a long time. If he bowls or doesn’t bowl, it could have a big impact on the way Australia’s batting line-up [looks],” Ponting said on the
ICC Review Podcast.
“I’d like to think that he [Webster] has [done enough] even if Green is bowling. Green will probably be on a limited workload anyway. I think Webster deserves to be in the side.”
Ponting has been impressed with Labuschagne’s purple patch, which has yielded scores of 130, two, 160, 105, 159 and 18 for Queensland across first-class and list A fixtures.
“He’s a lot more confident in scoring,” Ponting said. “He’s going well, but it’s still a long way out.
“Then I think it probably comes down to whether they want to back in the youth of Konstas at the start of an Ashes series, or if the sheer weight of runs for Marnus is going to get him back into the team. If it does, I think he’ll be in the team as an opening batsman.
“We know Sam Konstas has been the incumbent. He played the last series in the West Indies. He’s one that probably hasn’t capitalised as much as he would have liked in those first two games.
“Unusually, this time around, I’m pretty sure that I can pick England’s team for the first Test and you can’t pick Australia’s.”
Ponting also pointed out that England have won just four Tests in Australia this century and would face a serious challenge to regain the urn. He also backed Joe Root to overcome his century drought in Australia.
Across three Australian Test tours, Root has made five half-centuries from 27 innings but failed to reach triple figures. The closest he has got was an 87 in Adelaide in 2013 and a score of 89 in Brisbane last time England toured.
“That little man sits on your shoulder. He keeps telling you, ‘You haven’t done well here in the past … you know you haven’t got 100 here’,” Ponting said.
“It’s a mental thing for him this series, more than anything else. His game is magnificent at the moment. He’s got to get over that little mental hurdle and get 100, and I actually think he will. I think he will get 100 this time around.”
Former Australian skipper Allan Border has questioned whether Sam Konstas can even play a cover drive and made a stunning call on all-rounder Cam Green ahead of the Ashes next month.
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