Australia captain Pat Cummins has backed opener Sam Konstas to come good in Test cricket despite the youngster’s struggles since returning to the Australia side.
The 19-year-old made his first Test duck in the second innings of Australia’s second Test win against West Indies and has now managed just one half century and 146 runs in eight innings in international cricket.
Single figure scores are always going to happen to opening batters against a new ball but it is the innings where Konstas has had a start and failed to kick on that will be at least as much of a concern.
There have been four of each so far but his captain has told him to relax and play with freedom: "Don't get too caught up in it," Cummins recalled of how he spoke to the teenager after his duck. "Every innings feels like the biggest thing in the world.
"The stat is that the best batters in the world don't hit their average three out of four times, so you're going to fail more often than you're going to succeed.
“As long as you're a quick learner, as long as you're moving well and giving yourself the best chance, keep doubling down on that and judge yourself after a series, not innings by innings."
Although Kontas has made just 33 runs in four innings in the series against West Indies, it has not prevented Australia from winning it with a match to spare.
They went 2-0 up to retain the Frank Worrell Trophy after a 133-run victory in Grenada. That followed their 159-run first Test win in Bridgetown.
The series winds up in Kingston, with the third Test set to commence next Saturday. The match will be played as a day-night affair with a pink ball in use, the first time such a game has been hosted in Jamaica.
