Sam Konstas never tried ramp shots in the backyard, says brother

Sam Konstas’ older brother reveals where his stunning Boxing Day stroke play came from in a debut that shocked his own family.

Sam Konstas was bold enough to repeatedly attempt to ramp Jasprit Bumrah in front of a sellout crowd at the MCG on Boxing Day, but try the same to his brothers in the backyard? Absolutely not.

“In the backyard, we did have the auto-wicketkeeper, so the ramp (shot) was out of play,” his older brother Billy Konstas said after his breathtaking half-century on debut.

“I didn’t know what to expect, to be honest with you … I was shaking, my heart rate was up, and I was like, ‘Sammy, straight bat, straight bat’, but yeah … it works!

“We had no expectation coming into today. We were just taking it moment by moment.”

Show-stealing Boxing Day debutant Sam Konstas was presented his baggy green with his dad Jim (left), mum Pam (right) and brothers Billy and Johnny. Picture: Robert Cianflone / Getty Images

Billy Konstas, who is four years older than Sam and watched his younger brother “slowly” catch up to him in grade cricket for St George, said the pair and Sam’s twin brother Johnny would play in the backyard as their favourite players – among them Steve Smith, Shane Watson and Virat Kohli.

Kohli raised eyebrows and could incur a sanction from the ICC after he shirtfronted Konstas in the middle during the 10th over, but the incident did not trouble the debutant’s older brother.

“I didn’t mind it – it added a bit of a spectacle to cricket, a bit of rugby league action going on in the cricket space,” he told SEN.

“Out on the field (Sam) has got such a hard exterior, but off the field he’s such a humble guy.”

Konstas took on Jasprit Bumrah with a series of audacious ramp shots on his way to a 52-ball half-century in the first session at the MCG. Picture: Michael Klein

He said Konstas had always been a “three-format player”, but had only recently worked out how to bring his full array of shots to red-ball cricket.

“He had all the gears from a young age … I just think learning how to shift through the gears has developed quite recently, in terms of being confident enough to play 360 (degrees),” Billy said.

“I think the key for Sam is his bad days and good days look very similar. He scores a hundred or gets out for a duck, he’ll come home same attitude, same mindset, so I think that’s the key. Don’t ride the highs and lows of the sport, just be present.”

Before his blistering 60, Konstas had already turned heads with his broad grin during the national anthem after seeing himself on the big screen.

“He was in the school choir in primary school, so he loves to sing loudly, but not very well,” his brother said.