Sam Konstas: Greek Unorthodox

Australia 6-311 (Steve Smith 68no, Jasprit Bumrah 3-75)

He’s so young you wouldn’t be surprised to find that moustache on the top lip was a Milo stain, and when he’s asked by a reporter if the positive intent he showed in that extraordinary debut is a hallmark of a new generation, he readily agrees.

“Yeah, definitely,” he says, as they do. “I reckon maybe 20 or 30 years ago people would be saying ‘defend a lot, just bat all day’, but I think there’s a new generation, new shots, it’s exciting for me, obviously I like putting pressure back on the bowlers, and hopefully it pays off in the next innings.”

Some arrive fully formed. Virat Kohli was born angry, as I’ve said before, at birth he gave the doctor a slap. Sam Konstas was - like the Dalai Lama or the chosen one whose birthday is celebrated recently - born for this. If Australia had been able to summon three wise men back in October 2005, they’d have set off in a sponsor’s with a bat, a contract and a baggy green. And he’d asked them what took them so long.