The proof that Australian cricket’s teen phenomenon Sam Konstas is changing the sport

They are the moments that make you appreciate how well Sam Konstas has handled being thrust into the spotlight – and how he is changing cricket and engaging a whole new audience.

“I have hated cricket my entire life, but you’re amazing, mate, you really are. I couldn’t look away.”

A middle-aged woman rushed out of a Cronulla restaurant to tell Sam Konstas this when she spotted him getting his photo taken at the beach on Tuesday afternoon.

She was the first of a constant stream of kids, young men and women and older guys who had been watching cricket their whole lives who wanted to come over and shake hands with the 19-year-old who proved the turning point in Australia winning a blockbuster series against India.

As Konstas was getting his photo taken underneath one of the famous Norfolk Pines that line Cronulla beach, there were two young teenage boys desperately trying to get a ball down from the tree, and it was not hard to imagine them being Sam and his sports obsessed brothers only a couple of years earlier.

Sam Konstas is a popular character – and people are stopping him in the street to tell him just that. Picture: Richard Dobson

It’s in moments like these you appreciate how well Konstas handled being thrust into perhaps the most-watched Test series ever played.

I realise you’re never going to get the full picture of a person when you sit down to interview them for an hour, but I found Konstas respectful, humble, engaging and welcoming.

Konstas grew up in Hurstville, the heart of the St George area, and in my opinion, the best area in Sydney.

I’m biased because I grew up there too, going to school in the neighbouring suburbs of Penshurst and Kogarah – albeit of course I’d finished Year 12 before Konstas was even born.

It’s a proud working-class area, a vibrant multicultural melting pot of people from all different backgrounds.

I went to school with a lot of kids like Sam, confident but loveable, from good families and at heart, deeply loyal to their loved ones, their heritage, and where they come from.

Konstas has been mobbed by fans since day one of his Australian Test career. Picture: Getty

To me, Sam’s most revealing comment during our chat was when I asked him what his favourite moment was in his whirlwind two Test matches, where he set up Australia’s win at the MCG with an innings the like of which hasn’t been seen before.

“Receiving my baggy green. That was my favourite moment,” Konstas said.

“My parents were there, the MCG, the crowd. As a kid I wanted to get that cap and it was a truly remarkable feeling.

“My family have been a tremendous support to me. Mum and dad, all their sacrifices when I was a little kid, even now.

“I’m very grateful to have them in my life.

“My twin brother Johnny, my older brother Billy, they’ve given so much to me and it’s a special feeling.”

Konstas poses for photographs with his family after being presented with his baggy green on Boxing Day. Picture: Getty

During the Pink Test in Sydney, fan Vera Rothwell posted on Facebook about what she observed of Konstas at the SCG.

“What a nice guy the new boy in the Aussie cricket team is. Sam Konstas was being very generous with his time, signing autographs and posing for photos with the kids (and adults) when someone pulled him over and introduced him to one of the McGrath Foundation volunteers,” Rothwell wrote.

“He had a photo with her and she gave him a bandana. Then he said, ‘I want to give you something, pulled out his wallet and gave her $50 for the cause.

“I was right there when it happened. I know cricketers make good money but this was a lovely gesture meant to go unnoticed.”

Konstas in many ways had nothing to apologise for out of his first Two Tests. As Pat Cummins said, playing in a confident way with your shoulders pinned back is not a crime.

But the young man deserves credit for being vulnerable and honest enough to admit he got some things wrong and has vowed to learn from his encounter with Jasprit Bumrah and his supercharged batting.

The people can’t wait to see what’s next and that’s a great thing for Australian cricket.

Originally published as The proof that Australian cricket’s teen phenomenon Sam Konstas is changing the sport