NSW captain Nathan Lyon was to the point when asked what's expected of Sam Konstas in the buildup to the Ashes.
"Runs."
Lyon will lead Konstas in the NSW side for the Sheffield Shield opener against WA, starting on Saturday in Perth.
Konstas has returned from the Australia A tour of India where he scored a century, and the 19-year-old's form will be one of the big talking points heading into the Ashes.
While Konstas looks likely to partner incumbent opener Usman Khawaja, there will be intense competition for spots in Shield games ahead of the first Ashes Test from November 21 in Perth.
Lyon will captain NSW for the first time - he previously led South Australia in 2012 - and the Test off-spin mainstay made it clear he will not be getting into Konstas's ear about how he can improve.
"Not just him, but everyone around Australia - they have to learn their style, be brave enough to back that and have faith in it," Lyon said.
"I haven't spoken to him about off-break bowling and I can't bat, so I'm not talking to him about batting.
"I will talk to him about batting against off-spin bowling, but I will let them do that and let the people who he trusts around him to come up with the right method."
Lyon added Australian captain Pat Cummins is doing "all right things" as he tries to recover from a back injury in time for the Ashes.
"Pat's been brilliant, he's upbeat. He seems really good," Lyon said.
Lyon is filling in as NSW captain for one game before Jack Edwards returns from Australia A duties.
"I just hope we're catching better than the last time I was captain," he said.
"We won the toss - perfect ... we dropped (Queensland's) Joe Burns five or six times and he went on to get 180."
