Andrew McDonald calls for patience amid Sam Konstas criticism

The Baggy Greens' batting woes at the top of the lineup continued in the first Test of their tour of the West Indies after Sam Konstas, who came in to replace Marnus Labuschagne, failed to make any kind of impact in his two innings.

He was dominated by the in-swing of Shamar Joseph and managed scores of just three and five in his two trips to the crease. The conditions were tough for the batters early on but Konstas still looked extremely out of his depth.

In needs to be noted that he is still firmly in the development phase of his career at just 19 years old but the pressure of being thrown in at the top of the Australia innings may be a step too far for him at this stage.

However, McDonald disagrees and has firmly backed the youngster to have a long and successful career with Australia, saying a bit of patience is all that is needed to help get Konstas to his best.

"The players are the harshest critics really when all is said and done," McDonald said after Australia won the first Test by 159 runs.

"We've had some conversations around potentially if you're in that situation again what does that look like and that's what experience is. It's learning from previous events and trying to implement a way through that.
 
"It felt like he was stuck at times and he was over-aggressive and then underplayed. It's really that balance and tempo. He's got that there and that's a step up to Test cricket"

"He's got a really good partner down the other end [Usman Khawaja] that over time, I think, will play out. That's all we ask for - a bit of patience and time with a young player coming into Test cricket.

"I think on that type of surface it's an issue for everyone," McDonald added.

"He's been on the record around working on his technique in the winter and some small adjustments and how they play out in training versus under extreme pressure is always a different sort of pattern.

"He knows his deficiencies but, from a batting perspective, I encourage all players to learn to play with their deficiencies. I don't think there's such a thing as a perfect technique. If that's what you're looking for then I think you're looking in the wrong place.

"He'll learn to play with what he's got. We're a team that encourages run-scoring. Did he lose his intent at certain times in that innings? Was he looking at his defensive layers rather than potentially putting some pressure back on? I think that's really the balance he needs to strike. I think he's good enough. It'll just take some time for him to adapt."