EXCLUSIVE: Merv Hughes reveals ‘the one thing people have forgotten’ amid Sam Konstas selection headache
Australian cricket icon Merv Hughes has revealed the “forgotten” aspect surrounding Sam Konstas as the young opener fights for his spot ahead of the Ashes.
The 20-year-old is in the midst of a rough patch of form at Sheffield Shield level and was dismissed cheaply again earlier this week for NSW in their clash with Victoria.
Konstas is clinging to his spot as Test opener with the first match against England fast-approaching and the Aussie squad expected to be named soon.
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The likes of Matt Renshaw and Jake Weatherald have been mentioned as potential replacements for Konstas, while the likely return of Marnus Labuschagne could also see the eccentric right-hander slot in at the top of the order alongside Usman Khawaja.
However, according to Hughes, selectors and the general public would be wise not to write off the Sutherland product yet, despite his limited appearances at Test level.
Sam Konstas Getty
“He’s the incumbent and people seem to have forgotten that,” Hughes told Wide World of Sports as part of VB launching their ‘Laws of Cricket’ campaign.
“Blokes out of the team have got to be kicking the door down to get in. There’s people knocking on the door, but they’re not kicking it down.
“A lot of people are sitting back and saying there’s nothing there to show them that he is a Test player. Well, hang on a second, he has been selected to play for Australia when he was 19 years old. If he doesn’t take part in the first Test or this Ashes series, he’s still gonna have a massive future with Australian cricket.
“The good thing from the selectors’ point of view is that they’ve got options and if Konstas is not there, people are talking about Weatherald, Renshaw or Cam Bancroft.”
Konstas has scored 163 runs at an average of 16.30 in his short Test career thus far, which was highlighted by a half-century on debut against India.
The big-hitting prodigy was left out for the Sri Lanka tour where Aussie players scored runs for fun, before earning a recall against the West Indies when batters struggled.
Sam Konstas walks off the field after his dismissal in Jamaica AP
Hughes will be on deck throughout the summer as the Aussies push to retain the urn, but will have to contend with the raucous Barmy Army supporters for five games.
But Hughes, the former quick and cult hero who took 250 wickets across his Test and ODI career, has urged the England players and supporters to remember the laws of the game following the controversy stemming from Jonny Bairstow’s infamous dismissal at Lord’s.
“We love sticking it to the Barmy Army and the English cricket team as well, to be honest, because last time around obviously some of the England guys forgot the rules of cricket and laws of the game,” Hughes said.
“To be able to join up with VB and get the laws of the game onto the cans and reinstate it. There’s a few laws you’ve got to adhere to and one of them is stay in your crease – if you wander out of your crease, you can get run out.
“What we are trying to do is get rid of the spirit of the game and adhere to the laws.”
Merv Hughes with the Barmy Army supporters Supplied
Hughes also brushed off claims from Stuart Broad that the current Australian team is the worst since the 2010 Ashes series and believes England will struggle to land a blow.
“Here we go – Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Steve Smith – I don’t think our team has changed that much,” he said.
“I think the English guys are talking it up a lot and now it’s whether their players can back it up. To be honest, I can’t see England winning a Test match.
“I don’t think it’s gonna be 5-0 because there will be a washout somewhere and the Aussies might get on the VBs after they get to 3-0 up.”
Australian players with the Ashes urn Alex Davidson via getty Images
As for who Hughes sees as the dominant figure this summer, there’s one man at the tip of his tongue that is poised for a huge five-game campaign.
“I just reckon Steve Smith has got something to prove,” he said.
“He’s been written off a little bit, people are starting to doubt him, but he had a good Shield performance recently and scored a century, so he’s in for a big one.”
VB’s Laws of Cricket Cans have been produced following the last test series when England forgot that batsmen who leave their crease can be stumped. The cans will be available in Liquorland stores across Australia from November 5
