‘Mum was in tears; I was trying not to cry’: Konstas reflects on maiden Test call-up

Sydney: The 19-year-old Australian batter Sam Konstas, currently representing Sydney Thunder in the Big Bash League (BBL), reflected on his maiden Test call-up to the men’s national team during the game against Sydney Sixers on Saturday.

With the Border Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) series perfectly poised at 1-1, Konstas is poised to debut at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), during the Boxing Day Test match. The right-handed opener has revealed he was ‘trying not to cry’ whilst breaking the news to his parents.

“I was in the nets, and I got the call from George Bailey, he told me I was in the Test squad, so I called my parents straight away, they were very emotional. I’ll meet up with the team tomorrow and go from there,” said Konstas to BBL broadcasters mid-game.

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“Mum was in tears, I was trying not to cry and Dad was super proud. It’s been an amazing journey with all the ups and downs so I’m very grateful for this.”

Konstas has been added at the expense of opener Nathan McSweeney, whose spot in Australia’s XI was being heavily debated by selectors following two single-digit scores during the drawn third Test at the Gabba.

McSweeney’s omission follows a string of underwhelming performances since his debut last month, where he failed to surpass 10 runs in five out of six innings. While the 25-year-old showed promise, his inability to adapt to the challenges of opening at the Test level, particularly against the moving ball, proved costly.

McSweeney, who has a long career ahead of him, admitted he was left ‘devasted’ after being dropped from the team.

“Yeah, I am devastated, I got the dream come true and then didn’t quite work the way I wanted. But it’s all part of it and I’ll get my head down and get back in the nets and work really hard and hopefully be ready to go for the next opportunity.

“It’s the game we’re in. If you don’t take an opportunity and you’re not performing as well as you want to, your position’s never safe. So I missed out a few times with the bat and unfortunately wasn’t able to take my opportunity but as I said I’ll work really to make sure that if the opportunity comes round again I’m definitely ready,” McSweeney told Channel 7.