New South Wales opener Sam Konstas fell slogging in his final chance to press his case for an Ashes call-up as the rain-affected contest against Queensland at the Gabba ended as a stalemate.
With the match headed for an inevitable draw, Konstas survived a probing opening spell from Bulls captain Marnus Labuschagne before miscuing a rash swipe against Queensland debutant Sam Skelly towards mid-off, gone for 41 The Blues were 1-79 in their second innings when players shook hands.
Konstas, Australia’s incumbent Test opener, has scored 122 runs at 20.33 in this season’s Sheffield Shield, with one fifty in six knocks. The 20-year-old had never played a first-class match at the Gabba before this week.
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“Cricket is just a tough game. It’s so tough batting up the top of the order, extremely tough,” Test opener Usman Khawaja said of Konstas on Thursday.
“He’s playing first-class cricket, it is tough. I have played for 18 years, and it’s still tough. It’s not an easy game, the new ball is as hard as it gets.
“At the age of 20, I still remember, I was still figuring out my game. I wasn’t playing first-class games, I was playing first grade.
“Everyone’s trying to, especially at that age, figure out what works, what doesn’t work, and I’m sure he’s going to be better for it in the future.”
Sam Konstas of New South Wales. Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty ImagesSource: Getty Images
Earlier on Friday, Bulls batter Jack Clayton notched his fifth first-class hundred, dismissed by NSW seamer Liam Hatcher for 113 before Queensland declared at 8-347.
Elsewhere in the Sheffield Shield, South Australia declared their second innings at 8-394, setting hosts Western Australia a 303-run target for victory at the WACA.
Down in Melbourne, Tasmanian all-rounder Beau Webster was dismissed by Victorian seamer Mitchell Perry for after flashing at a wide delivery and chipping towards backward point. The 31-year-old is fighting to keep his spot in the Test side, admitting earlier this week he was at risk of being “squeezed” out of Australia’s Ashes XI.
