Sam Konstas' hopes of retaining Australian spot in the Ashes rocked by troubling Sheffield Shield performance
Sam Konstas has hit a major bump in the road to retaining his spot in the Australian team for the Ashes after he was dismissed for a four-ball duck in the Sheffield Shield.
Fellow Ashes hopeful Scott Boland was the man to cut the young star's time at the crease short on Wednesday, collecting Konstas' wicket with an lbw on his fourth delivery.
Konstas left the opening three balls that came in his direction from Boland before his disastrous ending was confirmed with just over an hour left in day one's play. Victoria had earlier been dismissed for 240.
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The result comes at an unfortunate time for Konstas, given all eyes are on Australia's incumbent stars in the build up to the Ashes.
A rocky run of results in recent weeks in the Sheffield Shield and Dean Jones Cup has sparked some alarm around Konstas, as he made just four and 14 against WA last week.
Sam Konstas walks from the field after being dismissed. Getty
However, just one month prior on the Australia A tour of India, he whacked a century in tough conditions.
"Scotty Boland, with a new one anywhere, you can put him on the M4, and he would still be tough going," Konstas' Blues teammate Liam Hatcher told reporters prior to the innings when asked about the youngster's recent form slump.
"That's what happens when you face the new ball – you are going to get good ones.
"He is a really confident kid, as you have seen, and I have no doubt there is still an innings here and plenty of time before that first Test to build. He will come good."
Still, these poor showings have all coincided with the success of the in-form Marnus Labuschange, who has found three centuries in four innings for Queensland.
The Victorians were dismissed for 240 on Wednesday, with Peter Handscomb (85) and Mitch Perry (66) the only two to record more than 50 runs.
Sean Abbott reacts on day one of NSW v Victoria's match. Getty
Meanwhile, Sean Abbott made history as the first player to be substituted out via the injury replacement rule after splitting the webbing on his right hand.
The rule, which is currently being trialled and is an advancement of the concussion replacement protocols, allows teams to replace a played injured up until stumps on day two of the match.
A tactical substitution can also be made by the rival team in response to the injury replacement up until stumps on day two, also. However, it must be a like-for-like substitution to the injured player.
Abbott, 33, was replaced by Charlie Stobo and must now complete a 12-day stand down period starting on Friday across all national and domestic tournaments.
Abbott's exit is a troubling sight for the Australian team, given he was a vital player in the nation's back up plans for the Ashes bowling roster.
NSW will resume their innings on 3-39 on Thursday.
