Sam Konstas is an Australian player in waiting, says NSW coach Shipperd

New Delhi, Oct 14 (IANS) Shortly after teenaged opener Sam Konstas was named in the Australia A squad for the upcoming red-ball games against India A, New South Wales head coach Greg Shipperd heaped rich praise on him, saying he is a player who has the potential to play for the senior team.

Konstas, 19, lit up the ongoing Sheffield Shield tournament by scoring twin centuries against South Australia in the opening round. It earned him the distinction of being the first teenager to achieve this feat in the Shield since Ricky Ponting did so in 1993. He had been a member of Australian team winning this year’s U19 World Cup in South Africa.

But the youngster will face tough competition as capped players Marcus Harris and Cameron Bancroft have also been selected in the Australia A squad set to face India A at Mackay and Melbourne on October 31 and November 7, respectively."It was all heading in the right direction as he finished off last season. He was a breath of fresh air around the group in terms of his energy and his commitment to his craft. He trains beautifully… loves batting, loves scoring. He doesn’t overplay situations; he found a really nice balance early on in his career.

"If it’s a drive, it’s a drive or if it’s a cut, it’s a cut, he’s not really fazed with balls around that head area. It was terrific for him. He had some games before the Shield match where he made a couple of mental mistakes, but he really readjusted that quickly and got in the contest against South Australia and was phenomenal.

"I've seen young players come through over my journey of 50 years and he’s a special one. We’re looking forward to him playing well for us and I believe he is an Australian player in waiting," said Shipperd, who also coached Delhi Daredevils (now Capitals) in first four IPL seasons, to SEN 1170 Mornings show.He also revealed Konstas has a mentor in Australia all-rounder great Shane Watson and how conversations with him have helped him take the next big leap in his budding cricketing career."He has developed this process of his own across his career with a lot of good support around him. Shane Watson is someone he talks to quite often around that level of cricket. Out in the middle you are on your own, you have got to make a decision every ball…he is hungry for runs, loves batting," he said.