Marnus Labuschagne has backed young gun Sam Konstas to become a 'very, very good player' for the Australian cricket side once he learns his game.
With the Ashes side set to be selected mid-week, Labuschagne is expected to be picked in the side, while questions remain as to whether Konstas, who is averaging 20.33 in the Sheffield Shield, will be selected.
Labuschagne and Konstas played against each other on Monday during the One-Day Cup, with Labuschagne scoring 101 (111) and taking 6/26 off six overs as his Queensland team won by 96 runs against New South Wales, with Konstas scoring 47 (74) in a losing effort.
“Sammy is so talented, we’ve seen that. For him, it’s just he’s young. This is first-class cricket. It’s not easy, especially batting at the top,” Labuschagne told Fox Sports News.
“Understanding the conditions, understanding your game, and he’ll learn his game, and I feel when he really learns his game learns when to push, when to pull, when to defend.
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”When to use all these shots, he’s going to be a very, very good player for Australia.”
Labuschagne also spoke on his encouraging form heading into the Ashes series, with the Queenslander leading the Sheffield Shield with 341 runs at an average of 85.25 and the One-Day Cup with 338 runs at an average of 84.5.
“Firstly, I think it’s something that needed to happen for me to get where I am today,” Labuschagne said.
“Because I think once you while you’re still playing and you’re in, you’re getting scrutinised, and it’s hard to get clarity on where you want your game to be and how you want to do that.
“As a player, and the way I always play is ‘okay, I’ll just keep training. I’ll keep training, and it was just not the right plan and the right play.
”So for me, it was something that really needed to happen for me to, like I said, find my best, and I said it from the start before the first game.
“I said ‘if I’m playing at my best, I don’t need to worry about anything else’.”