
Warner Urges Selectors to Back Konstas For Ashes
Former Australian opener David Warner has called on the selectors to stick with Sam Konstas for the Ashes 2025 opener in Perth. He believes the young right-hander has the ability to counter England’s pace attack when the series begins on November 21.
Warner Confident in Konstas’ Potential
Since Warner’s retirement, Australia have experimented with multiple partners for Usman Khawaja — including Nathan McSweeney, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Josh Inglis, and Konstas. The 20-year-old grabbed attention after playing a stunning ramp shot against Jasprit Bumrah at the MCG last year.
“I’d like them to try and probably stick with Sam and give him a crack. He scored that hundred in the Australian A series [in India last month]. He batted outstandingly there. I don’t think we’ve seen exactly what we know Sam Konstas can do,” Warner said at Kayo Sports’ Summer of Cricket launch in Sydney, as quoted from ESPNcricinfo.
“Last year… he probably got overwhelmed by the occasion, and we saw some very highlighted cricket. But I’ve seen him build innings, I’ve seen him play some fantastic innings, and I’d like to see him go back to just doing that,” he added.
Warner: Konstas Can Tackle England’s Pacers
Konstas impressed early with a fluent 60 against India during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, though his form dipped later. Warner, however, is confident he can handle England’s pace battery.
“They don’t have a Jasprit Bumrah, so he doesn’t have to worry about that. They’ve got some fast bowlers, but he can tackle that. Last year, I felt like he just got caught up in the occasions. He got caught up in thinking it was the only way to play that way against Bumrah and then did it to the other players,” Warner said.
“I don’t think he needed to change his game to the other bowlers. He could have just stayed there and played the normal way. There was one guy who was getting a lot of people out, and… [Konstas] didn’t want to get out to him because he was bringing the ball back in. He countered that, and he could have gone back in and just batted normally. So I think if he can work out that and identify those periods, I think he’ll go a long way,” he added.
Labuschagne Should Return at No. 3
Marnus Labuschagne, who has recently returned to form with a 160 for Queensland, is also in the mix. But Warner wants him at No. 3, not as an opener.
“I think when you’ve got a lot of Test cricket under your belt, you know what he’s capable of and know what he can do. If someone’s averaging 50 in Test cricket, you’ve probably got to go back to that. Does he open? I wouldn’t like to see him open. I’d like him to shuffle back down to three,” Warner said.
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