While Cummins said there is no less desire to achieve success simply by being young, he recalled his own feelings that there was less pressure given how quick his debut had been and his inexperience.
“I said this to Sam the other day; I remember when I was 18 thinking I had a lot more leeway because I was young,” Cummins said. “I almost felt that if I hadn’t played a great game, it wasn’t my fault, but the selectors’ fault for choosing me. It was as if they were the idiots who chose an 18-year-old. So young that you start your career, it’s Boxing Day, it doesn’t get any better than this, so just enjoy the moment.
“I spent a little bit of time wondering why or how it was there, how it had happened so quickly. I just remember being very excited and it’s similar to Sammy this week. There’s a level of naivety where you just want to go out and play like you do. When you are a kid in the backyard: continue the game, have fun and don’t think too much.
“That’s the message to Sam. That’s definitely how I felt when I was 18, really excited, and once the game started, you go into game mode and it’s like any other game.”
Referring to a specific memory from his Johannesburg experience, Cummins added: “On my debut I remember trying to hit Dale Steyn on the head to run and I thought that made sense at the time, now I look back and it’s like ‘ “God, I’d have been crucified if that hadn’t come out, so I think there’s some benefit to that naivety.”
Konstas had a strong support group flying to Melbourne for his debut with friends, family and mentor Shane Watson making the trip, but Cummins felt someone was dealing well with his dramatic rise.
“He’s pretty laid back, very funny, happy to follow the jokes and take the mickey out of himself and others,” Cummins said. “We always encourage him to be himself. He seems to have a good head on his shoulders for a 19-year-old, so we’re there supporting him.”
Konstas’ debut will be one of two changes for Australia from the Gabba Test with Scott Boland returning home in place of the injured Josh Hazlewood. Travis Head underwent a fitness test on Christmas Day after returning from Brisbane with a quad strain, but Cummins said he was “fully fit”.
Head has been the series’ most successful batsman with 409 runs in five innings, including back-to-back centuries in Adelaide and Brisbane. The next best figure is KL Rahul’s 235 runs. It would have been a gigantic hole to fill the batting order. “He’s hitting the ball better than ever, and let it continue,” Cummins said.
If the Melbourne Test goes all the way, there will be just a three-day turnaround until the final game at the SCG on January 3, which may present some challenges for the rapids, although speaking on Christmas Eve, head coach Andrew McDonald I trusted Cummins and Mitchell Starc. would be able to pass. With the Adelaide test being short and Brisbane having been severely affected by rain, the overall workload has not been too high.
