The West Sport Show: Sam Konstas our next opener, says former Test captain Kim Hughes

Former Australian captain Kim Hughes has endorsed New South Wales teen Sam Konstas as the country’s next opener after selectors “missed the boat” on Cam Bancroft.

“A boy of tremendous talent and we need to get him in there. He has done it in the shorter version of the game with 100 against the India A side,” Hughes told The West Sport Show.

While Hughes does not believe selectors will change the top order for the Boxing Day Test, he said there were other opportunities coming up before next summer’s Ashes.

“We have a couple of Test matches (coming up) in Sri Lanka,” Hughes said.

Konstas, 19, is fifth on the Sheffield Shield runs table this summer with 471 including two centuries at an average of 58.87. He also clubbed a century for the Prime Minister’s XI in early December against an India A side featuring a number of Test bowlers.

Konstas reminded selectors of his unbridled talent with a half century off just 20 balls in Sydney Thunder’s two-wicket win over Adelaide Strikers in the Big Bash on Tuesday night.

Hughes said selectors “could not be happy” with the age profile of Australia’s top order.

Usman Khawaja is 38, Steve Smith 35, Marnus Labuchange 30, the in-form Travis Head 30, while allrounder and current No. 6 Mitch Marsh, also in a form trough, is 33.

Nathan McSweeney, a regular No. 3 who had played only one first-class innings as a specialist opener prior to filling that position so far this Test summer, is 25.

The opening partnership has failed to fire in the opening three Tests. Khawaja has scores of 8, 4, 13, 10no, 21 and 8 at an average of 12.8. McSweeney has 10, 0, 39, 9no, 9 and 4 at 14.2

However, Hughes did not expect selectors to make any drastic changes to the top order in the short term.

“They will be looking at the Ashes next year and then there could be a big exodus,” he said.

“We got away with it last year because Pakistan and the West Indies weren’t the sides they used to be, albeit the West Indies had a great win up in Brisbane.

“But we need players in the Sheffield Shield to put their hand up and knock the door down.”

Hughes said Bancroft did just that over the past two summers before his lean runs so far in 2024-25.

But he was overlooked for the Test team despite scoring 945 runs at 59.06 with four centuries in the 2022-23 Sheffield Shield season and finished second overall in 2023-24 with 778 at 48.62 and three hundreds.

Hughes backed Michael Hussey’s call in The West Australian in the lead up to the first Test the selectors should pick specialist openers.

“I batted at four, I could no more open than fly to the moon,” Hughes said.

“Opening the batting in Test cricket is a specialist position and Bancroft is a specialist.

“He’s a good fielder, he’s at the right age, 30 or 31 or thereabouts. They should have given him an opportunity but they missed that boat.

“Western Australia gets the blinkin’ porcupine and not only with the GST. Bancroft two years got nearly 1000 runs which was a lot more than anyone else.”

The Aussies have a runway in the lead in to their five-Test Ashes series next summer.

They play two Tests against Sri Lanka in late January, early February and another three in the West Indies from late June.

They are also in the mix for a place in the world championship final in mid-June.