Sydney, June 22 (UNI) Young Australian opener Sam Konstas believes he has come a long way

after his Boxing Day Test debut, where he scored a blazing half-century.

The batter who did not feature for Australia in the ICC World Test Championship 2025 Final, is expected to open the innings along with Usman Khawaja in the West Indies.

"There were quite a few lessons - one was my mental side," the young opener told

cricket.com.au as he recollected memories from his first Test match against India.

"That was my first time playing in front of a big crowd at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG),

so I've worked on trying to control my emotions better," Konstas said.

"The second thing would be technical. I've been working on a few things with my front foot, opening

it up slightly to get better access. It just helps work on my defence, as I felt there may be a slight weakness in that," he said.

"Those are the two things I'm working on and hopefully holds me in a good stead for the next few games," Konstas said.

Konstas had everyone talking after he took on India seamer Jasprit Bumrah in his very first game and made an impact with his debut knock.

"It was good reflecting and having a bit of time off to try to strengthen my game up," he added.

The right-hander feels he is not trying to prove how he approaches his game to others while also speaking with his seniors, seeking guidance on how to navigate the game-changing phases in the match, especially the heated moments.

"I chat to Usman Khawaja all the time on and off the field, whenever we train, I always try to get advice from Uzzie, Marnus Labuschagne or Steve Smith just seeing how they go about it,"

Konstas said.

"I just want to be myself and understand when to take on the game and when to soak up the

pressure to win games to Australia," he said.

The young batter, who will be the part of only his third Test, feels he is lucky to be where he is at

that age and playing against the best players, getting to experience different cultures.

"Obviously it's a tough team to crack into as we've got legends of the game in that team. For me, hopefully I grab my opportunity because it's such a strong side and I'm very grateful for that,"

Konstas said.

"I've been trying to focus on a few key areas with my batting coach, and I feel like I've come a long way, so hopefully I can display that the next few Test matches," he said.

"It's been good training with the whole group and getting to know everyone a lot more," Konstas said.

Australia, after having come the second best in the World Test Championship Final, will start their next World Test Championship cycle against West Indies with a three-match Test series.

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