The highly-anticipated bat-off for Australia’s vacant Ashes opening spot has taken a dramatic turn, with young hopeful Sam Konstas dismissed for a four-ball duck by rival fast bowler Scott Boland in today’s Sheffield Shield match.
Boland has Konstas for a duck! What a setup by Scotty 👏 #SheffieldShield pic.twitter.com/8FE3uKk9TS
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) October 15, 2025
The duck at Junction Oval on Wednesday is a crushing setback for the 20-year-old's hopes of partnering Usman Khawaja in the first Test on November 21.
The incident is steeped in irony: Boland, who is widely tipped to replace the injured Pat Cummins in the Australian XI, has effectively sabotaged the chances of one of the team's promising batsmen.
The quick dismissal has intensified fears that Australia is facing a deep crisis at the top of the batting order just weeks before the series begins.
The grim reality of a four-ball duck
Facing the man with the best Test bowling average on Australian soil, Konstas was trapped leg before wicket by a relentless Boland in the first over of New South Wales’ innings.

The young opener failed to make contact with the ball, allowing Boland to fire in a straight delivery that cannoned into his front pad.
The duck adds to a grim run of scores in the domestic competition (after posting just 4 and 14 in his previous Shield innings), leaving his overall average well below the standard required for Test cricket.
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This is now the fifth time in four Shield encounters that Boland has dismissed Konstas, demonstrating a clear tactical weakness that England will be keen to exploit.
Hayden’s fears and Labuschagne’s gain
The quick dismissal has immediately fuelled the debate over the quality of Australia’s top-order replacements.
Test great Matthew Hayden has publicly voiced his fears, saying there is currently no one in the Australian top order capable of doing the "heavy lifting" required for an Ashes victory.

Conversely, Konstas's failure is a major boost for the candidacy of Marnus Labuschagne.
The former No. 1 Test batsman is successfully converting domestic starts, having just scored three centuries in his past four innings for Queensland.
With the opener spot now wide open, Labuschagne’s rich vein of form makes him the clear frontrunner to partner Khawaja in Perth.
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