Ricky Ponting: Why Sam Konstas has to find playing style that works in Test cricket

Cricket legend Ricky Ponting has revealed the step Sam Konstas must take to cement his place in Test cricket, but is backing the young star’s selection for the World Test Championship final.

Cricket legend Ricky Ponting says Sam Konstas needs to “work out a style of play that will work at the highest level” but he would pick the young star for the World Test Championship final against South Africa.

Once a young phenomenon himself when he burst on to the scene for Tasmania before playing 168 Tests for Australia and becoming captain, Ponting said Konstas just needed to work out what would work for him in the heat of battle.

“I think he has to work it out for himself, he has to work out a style of play that will work at the highest level,” Ponting said.

“I think he doesn’t quite know how to go about it yet.

Sam Konstas made an immediate impact in the Test arena. Picture: Getty Images

“If you look back to his first innings in Test cricket it worked for him then and I actually interviewed him that night after day one at the MCG and I said, ‘how are you going to play for the rest of your career because you probably aren’t going to be able to play that way the whole time?’

“He needs some good solid people around him that he can trust and that he can talk to and confide in.

“But at the end of the day you have to work it out yourself in the heat of battle ... you have to work out a style of play for yourself and keep out as much noise out as possible.

“He is a talented young man, he has some good people around him and hopefully he turns it around sooner rather than later.”

Konstas’ daring and unconventional approach to batting thrilled fans in his debut against India at the MCG on Boxing Day but he has been criticised for a reckless dismissal facing Australian quick Scott Boland in the Sheffield Shield this week.

The teen batting sensation lasted 2.1 overs for NSW against Victoria, immediately deploying ramp shots and reverse sweeps before Boland bowled him when he attempted to dispatch him to the short legside boundary.

Former NSW coach Phil Jaques called it ­“unexplainable” batting.

RELATED: Cummins’ view of Konstas’s Test future

Ricky Ponting has backed Sam Konstas for the World Test Championship. Picture: Nikki Davis-Jones

Despite Konstas being dropped from the Test team, captain Pat Cummings said the 19-year-old remains in the frame to take on South Africa at Lord’s in June.

Ponting said he would bring Konstas back into the side, after he did not play in the series victory over Sr Lanka.

“I would put him straight back in again (for the World Test Championship) I was surprised that he didn’t play in Sri Lanka,” he said.

“Obviously they got the results they wanted there but there was a good opportunity for the young gun to stay in the side and work it out in difficult conditions.

“Yeah I would go straight back to him in England, by the time West Indies come around and we have the Ashes here in the summer you need these young guns playing games as they can before these big games come around.”

Sam Konstas travelled with the Australian team for the tour of Sri Lanka but did not play. Picture: Getty Images

Australia started its Champions Trophy campaign against England on Saturday night.

Ponting said he was less bullish about Australia’s chances in it than he was.

“Two or three weeks ago I had them as favourites or second favourites with India but now there are about six guys who in the team that I thought would be there,” he said.

“(Mitchell) Starc, (Pat) Cummings, (Josh) Hazelwood all being out, Marcus Stoinis has retired, Cameron Green is not fit yet, Mitchell Marsh has a back injury.

“So their team is very depleted on what I thought it would be going into the Champions Trophy.

“But England have only won four of their last 14 one-day matches so both teams are going to go in not that confident.

“But I think Australia is good enough to win, they have a enough good players and players who won the World Cup ... so it is going to have to be the senior guys who have to stand up and almost carry the bowlers over the line in this tournament.”

Australia's players celebrate after the dismissal of England's Jamie Smith during the ICC Champions Trophy clash on Saturday night. Picture: AFP

Cummins (31), Starc (35) and Hazelwood (34) are all in their 30s with Boland, who came into the Test side when Hazelwood got injured in the series against India, 35 himself.

Ponting believed Boland still had some years to offer at Test level and said he thought the fast bowling stocks for Australia were better than the batting ones when it came to depth.

“Boland is in his 30s but hasn’t played a lot of international cricket so I think he can be around for a long time,” he said.

“I think Spencer Johnson is someone who can come in and take Mitchell Starc’s spot.

“They are the obvious ones, you have people Jhye Richardson and Lance Morris and these guys who have been there or thereabouts for a couple of years.

“Michael Neser is another one who hasn’t much of a chance to play.

“I think if I looked at it now I would say the fast bowling stocks are a bit better than what the batting stocks are at the moment and over the next 12 months I think we are going to see some more fresher faces in the Australian team.”

Former Australia cricket captain Ricky Ponting and his wife Rianna at Morphetville racetrack, where they hosted a luncheon showcasing their Ponting Wines collection. Picture: Mark Brake

Marnus Labuschagne returns to the side to take on England after being backed by national selectors despite a rough patch of form in both red and white ball cricket.

Ponting said Labuschagne needed to keep things as simple as possible.

“He is a real tinkerer,” he said.

“He likes to change things almost on a daily basis... my advice to him would be keep it as simple as possible, go back to thinking about the things and doing the things that you were doing when you were scoring runs.”

Ponting was speaking at Morphettville Racecourse in Adelaide on Saturday as he and wife Rianna hosted a luncheon that showcased their Ponting Wines collection, in collaboration with McLaren Vale winemaker Ben Riggs, that features seven South Australian wines and four Tasmanian ones.

Originally published as Ricky Ponting: Why Sam Konstas has to find playing style that works in Test cricket