‘No hesitation at all’: Shane Watson’s bold call on protege Sam Konstas for Test berth

Shane Watson knows what it’s like to be hyped as the next big thing. When mentoring Sam Konstas he sees a player equipped to deal with the heat of Test cricket.

Sam Konstas with his mentor Shane Watson ahead of his Sheffield Shield debut in 2023. Picture: Mark Evans/Getty Images

Shane Watson believes the time is right for Australian selectors to blood his protégé Sam Konstas in the same way he was fast-tracked more than two decades ago.

Konstas is 19 years of age and is just six matches into his first-class career, but Watson has no hesitation in declaring the young opener he has mentored closely over the past three years is ready for the acute pressures of facing India in a blockbuster five-match Test series this summer.

Watson’s work with Konstas is fascinating because it has focused predominantly on the mental side of the game, a burden Watson freely admits weighed him down for the majority of his own excellent career as one of Australia’s best ever Test all-rounders.

So passionate is Watson about teaching the power of the mind, he has turned his book The Winner’s Mindset into a new online course through global tech company SafetyCulture – and Konstas is in many ways the real life embodiment of this work.

Watson likens Konstas to his old teammate Michael Clarke for the advanced grasp he has on not only the technical skills, but also the mentality required to survive and thrive as a Test batsman – and he says this is the “perfect storm” for Australian selectors to be brave and back in a future star.

Watson says Konstas has the mental game to play Test cricket as a teenager. Picture: Mark Evans/Getty Images

“I’ve got no hesitation at all. He’s super well-equipped to be able to take on the challenge if he got that opportunity,” Watson said.

“Technically he’s very sound and obviously mentally he’s incredibly good for a 19-year-old. He’s only going to get better across the board.

“For me, I just see this as really a perfect storm for Australian cricket to be able to blood a young star – like they have through the ages of Australian cricket.

“When there’s a bright, shining light that’s burst onto the scene … they fast-track that bright star into the team to have them around international cricket and speed up their skill development.

“Sam has an insatiable appetite to just get better and learn all the time. He’s going to learn fast like Cameron Green, who is the most recent one to get that (early) opportunity.

“Green was the bright light that was doing things different to everyone else, and they brought him straight into the Australian team.”

Watson made his international debut for Australia on a tour of South Africa in 2002 when he was just 20, and doubts he would have been able to reach the heights he did without the early backing he was given.

“You really get huge benefits over a few years by allowing them to develop on the international scene. I know how my cricket continued to evolve from being a 20-year-old through to a my mid-to-late 20s,” Watson said.

“It would never have got to the stage that it did if it wasn’t for getting the opportunities I did early – you sink or swim.

“And you’re just desperate to continue to learn and get as good as you can, and then before you know it, Australian cricket reaps the rewards like we saw in the innings Cameron Green played in New Zealand (back in February). Everyone else around him was struggling and it was like he was batting on a different pitch.

“People don’t score a century in both innings that often (like Konstas did against South Australia this month). The last person to do it at a young age is Ricky Ponting so it shows this young man has something very special.

Konstas made a century during the Under 19 World Cup earlier this year. Picture: Matthew Lewis-ICC/ICC via Getty Images

“And now with our batting line-up and our team in general being a more ageing team, for me, it’s a perfect opportunity to be able to get someone to get Sam in there. A young star and to be patient with him.”

Watson, who first met Konstas through Cranbrook School (where his son was a junior student and Konstas a senior), admits he was bogged down by anxiety, worry and stress throughout the majority of his nearly 15-year career for Australia, but in the twilight of his playing days a chance meeting with IndyCar champion Will Power changed his life.

He was introduced to world-renowned mental performance coach Dr Jacques Dallaire, and it’s why he is confident Konstas can lead a career free of the baggage he used to carry.

“I know how important it is for me with this information that I’ve been fortunate enough to be taught, that it can be passed onto as many people as possible to be able to reduce the chances of them going through the ups and downs, especially the downs, as you navigate your way through it like I had to do,” Watson said.

“Sam is a perfect example of this, that the earlier you learn this information and integrate it into what you do day in day out means that you start to master the mental skills from a younger age.

“Then you can actually tap into those skills when your performances are needed.

John Buchanan gives Shane Watson a hand with his first baggy green cap.

“The thing that’s always stood out to me about Sam from the first time I met him is his desperate desire to be the best he can possibly be and the lengths he will go to to be able to eliminate all distractions.

“It’s got to the stage as a 19 year old where he’s able to do things that most 19 year olds dream of being able to do. And I mean playing with freedom.

“It’s going out there and knowing that you trust your instincts. You trust your defence. You trust your ability to be able to put away a loose ball.

“That’s really what it comes down to. Is controlling your thoughts, understanding what the right thoughts are ball after ball to be able to just bring the best you possibly can every ball and just doing it over and over again.”

* Watson’s book, The Winner’s Mindset, is now available as an online course at shanewatson.au.

Originally published as ‘No hesitation at all’: Shane Watson’s bold call on protege Sam Konstas for Test berth