There was no lengthy, intricate or divisive debate when Charlie Bannerman was named to open the batting for the Australians in the fixture that was to become the first “Test” match. There was no discussion as to his age, experience or batting average. There was no media squabble as to his efficacy off the back foot, or how his back lift, slightly towards slip, might be problematical against the new ball, even though they were now released from an overarm height producing “unprecedented pace and bounce”.
Bannerman had no experience of “pathway” cricket, incessant coaching, trampoline bats or free tracksuits, yet he made the first Test ton, and he did it with disciplined, orthodox and patient cricket, making 165 out of Australia’s first innings of 245.
How nice to succeed without the piercing glare of nationwide public speculation.
Sam Konstas, the teenager selected in the Australian Test squad this week, does not have the luxuries of an unheralded path to the top shelf, yet he looks as unfussed as Bannerman did more than 147 years before him. Cricket balls have changed so little in that time that we can assume that Charlie had to “see off” the swinging, hard new ball to prosper when the sheen dulled and the bowlers flagged.
The orthodoxy of opening the batting with caution so that the middle order may flourish is still legitimate today, even though some contemporary players feel the best way to blunt the new ball is to bludgeon it into whimpering submission. That precipitate approach works for a privileged few, as India and Australia are finding out, especially against quality fast bowling on helpful pitches.
Batting at the top of the order in this series has been challenging, and one feels for Nathan McSweeney, who is a definite Test batting prospect, but has been thrust in at No.1 or No.2 thanks to the selectors’ inability to plan carefully and to be unable to make decisions that would be unpopular inside the team.
Sam Konstas’ innings against Western Australia convinced me he’s ready for Test cricket – right now.Credit: Getty Images
Where Bannerman had no benchmark to measure the highest level of opening the batting, there now exists a lengthy history that provides many statistical points. What Charlie did have was his own history of being a specialist opener, something Konstas shares, even if the sample size for young Sam is limited simply because Sam is so young.
At the start of this season, Konstas made a hundred in each inning of the Sheffield Shield game against South Australia, a feat rare for any player, let alone one just turned 19 years old. In that same match, McSweeney occupied the crease doggedly for his own unbeaten hundred to secure South Australia a draw. McSweeney, at 25, and with a longer history at first-class level, then found himself out of position opening the batting in a Test match. Would you pick Nathan Cleary at hooker or Hugh McCluggage at full forward for a grand final? They would do a job of sorts, but lose serious ability to affect a game positively.
