Teenager hopeful of continuing development in the UK over the Australian winter
Konstas confirms county interest after maiden List A ton
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Batting whiz kid Sam Konstas is keen to test himself in the UK's County Championship as the ideal preparation for June's World Test Championship final against South Africa.
After posting a spectacular 116 off 98 balls against Queensland in the One-Day Cup, Konstas said he had not given his immediate future much thought since being released from the Test squad in Sri Lanka.
However, the New South Wales tyro suggested he would be receptive to any offers that come his way.
"I haven't thought too far ahead with my goals," Konstas told reporters after the Blues' 54-run defeat in Brisbane.
"Just being in the moment and try to win games for whatever team I play.
"Hopefully a county picks me up."
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Australia coach Andrew McDonald has already encouraged Konstas to seek a deal abroad after the opener was omitted to allow Travis Head to open in Sri Lanka.
The Australian domestic season ends on March 29 with the Sheffield Shield final, more than two months before the WTC decider at Lord's which is slated for June 11.
NSW sit second from bottom on the Shield standings but remain a chance at making the decider.
With the 2025 county season due to begin on April 4, it presents an excellent chance for the 19-year-old to continue to refine his game.
"I'd love to see him play county cricket," McDonald said.
"It will be a great learning curve if he could get into those conditions.
"Every game seems to be an opportunity to learn, he's so raw and young, and that was (behind) the decision to send him home to Brisbane (to play in the Shield) … He hadn't played at the Gabba."
Despite entering the tour of Sri Lanka fresh off spell-binding performances in the final two Tests of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Konstas was left out of the XI for the opening Test in Galle and sent back to Australia before the second match of the series.
Konstas admitted his first outing at the Gabba, which yielded scores of 3 and 22, did bring some surprises and is hatching plans for his next visit, which could come during next summer's Ashes series.
"Some great learnings (playing there), obviously very bouncy," Konstas said of the pitch.
"With our innings, I think there was only one lbw. So tactically, if I do go back there, (I'll) maybe switch guards.
"Facing (Michael) Neser for the first time (too), obviously he's a genius with the ball."
While Konstas missed out in the four-day match earlier in the week, he almost stole the show in Thursday's One-Day Cup clash at Allan Border Field with his maiden List A century.
From the mid-point of his innings, the Brisbane humidity got to the right-hander as Konstas required a five-minute break when he was on 60 to get a severe cramp in his left leg sorted.
Even opposition wicketkeeper Jimmy Peirson helped to stretch him out.
However, Konstas confirmed it was nothing more serious and joked that he may have "carried on a little bit" with the constant medical attention.
One-Day Cup standings 2024-25
| Team | M | W | L | T | N/R | NRR | Ded. | Bat | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1
SA
|
7 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0.25 | 0 | 3 | 21 |
|
2
VIC
|
7 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | -0.162 | 0 | 2 | 18 |
|
3
NSW
|
7 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0.099 | 0 | 2 | 16 |
|
4
QLD
|
7 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0.244 | 0 | 1 | 15 |
|
5
TAS
|
7 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0.134 | 0 | 1 | 15 |
|
6
WA
|
7 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | -0.481 | 0 | 1 | 9 |
M: Matches played
W: Wins
L: Losses
T: Ties
N/R: No results
NRR: Net Run Rate
Ded.: Deductions
Bat: Batting Bonus
PTS: Total points