Sam Konstas had removed his helmet and saluted the Cricket Central crowd before the ball had even landed in Silverwater’s snake-infested bushes.

The teenage opener was on 95 when he nailed a slog sweep that would seal his second Sheffield Shield century within three days, catapulting his name into the Test selection frame.

Having celebrated his 19th birthday the previous week, he became the youngest New South Wales cricketer to score twin hundreds in a Sheffield Shield match since Archie Jackson in 1927/28.

Konstas, playing just his fifth first-class match, faced 465 deliveries across both innings against South Australia, spending more than ten hours at the crease with national selector panel chair George Bailey and Test captain Pat Cummins watching on. None of his teammates, including former Australian representatives Moises Henriques and Josh Philippe, managed more than 56.

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While the first-innings ton will be remembered for its elegance and fluency, Konstas needed to work for his runs in the second dig; South Australia packed the off-side and bowled wide of the stumps, forcing the right-hander to bide his time and shift through the gears in a war of attrition.

It wasn’t a flawless knock either, with rival gloveman Alex Carey dropping a dolly when he was yet to score; but regardless, the contrasting hundreds demonstrated the aspiring cricketer’s versatility and endurance.

Konstas has a watertight technique, headlined by a steady base and immaculate cover drive. He makes batting look easy, remaining calm and disciplined in the middle while understanding when to attack, defend or leave, a vital attribute for any budding opener.

While the first ton proved he was a superstar in the making, the second made him a genuine contender in Australia’s Test opener race and earned him a call-up for the Australia A series against India A.

Yet, Konstas wasn’t completely satisfied. After the Sheffield Shield match against South Australia, he messaged Blues assistant coach Anthony Clark to discuss how he could improve ahead of the next game against Victoria.

“He’s 19 and just made two Shield hundreds, and he’s got a couple of ideas where he can improve still,” Clark, who also mentors the Australian Under-19 team, told Fox Cricket.

“That’s probably a testament to his desire to continue to get better.”

Konstas’ breakout performance arrived days before all-rounder Cameron Green was ruled out of the summer with a back injury, with Bailey confirming the Blues teen was among the candidates to replace him.

Within ten days, Konstas had skyrocketed from a relatively unknown entity within Australian cricket to a Test smokey.

Asked whether he was intimidated when moving through the ranks, Konstas responded: “Nup, I love the challenge. That’s the best thing, I want to be uncomfortable and just try to put myself forward.”

Konstas is coached by former Bangladesh first-class player Tahmid Islam, while ex-Australian star Shane Watson serves as a mindfulness mentor.

The 19-year-old meditates before games, calming himself between deliveries by focusing on breathing and steadying his heartbeat. Test cricket is a mental game as much as a physical one, and Konstas is already preparing himself for the challenges of the sport’s longest format.

“He’s particularly advanced in that area of his game,” NSW batting coach Nick Larkin told Fox Cricket.

“He’s focused on getting to three figures … that willingness to keep batting and bat for a long time, it can be a rare quality, particularly in young guys, but he’s got it.”

Since their chance meeting four years ago, Watson has helped Konstas develop his mental toughness, coaching the youngster on how to flourish in high-pressure situations. The former Australian all-rounder explores these mental skills in The Winner’s Mindset, partnering with SafetyCulture to produce an online course based on the book.

“He’s desperate to be the best he can,” Watson said of Konstas when speaking to Fox Cricket this week.

“That’s the thing that jumped out at me immediately the first time I had a conversation with him. He is willing to do anything, everything he needs to be the best that he can, to shut out any distraction that might get in the way … not everyone’s like that.

“As a 19-year-old, I was overawed so often because I was so desperate to perform and prove that I had what it took to be an international cricketer, whereas Sam’s got a great handle on that.”

Those who have followed Konstas’ journey over the years knew it wasn’t a matter of if, but rather when he would start compiling hundreds at first-class level.

Last summer, former Australian spinner Kerry O’Keeffe floated him as an option to replace David Warner in the Test side following the veteran opener’s retirement, declaring “this is a guy who appears destined”. He’s since impressed the likes of Cummins and Steve Smith, while national coach Andrew McDonald spoke highly of him over the weekend.

“This guy is an absolute weapon,” former Australian bowler Brett Lee told Fox Cricket’s The Follow On podcast earlier this month.

“He is a raw talent.”

Konstas scored his first century for St George at age ten, a few years later notching four hundreds in eight days.

After becoming the leading run-scorer in Green Shield history, he recorded a century in all five grades of NSW Premier Cricket and both under-age competitions.

During his maiden summer at Sutherland, Konstas broke the club record for most runs scored in a season. In November last year, he cracked hundreds in the Under-21 Poidevin Gray competition, a NSW under-17 match and a first-grade game for Sutherland … all within seven days.

The prolific batter has drawn comparisons to the likes of Michael Clarke, Phil Hughes and Ricky Ponting for his dominance with the willow. In the NSW sheds, he’s been dubbed ‘Pinter’ — a pint-sized Punter.

“In the academy, all the talk was that he was one of the standout players,” Clark recalled.

“When you initially looked at him in the nets, we knew he was good, but just whenever we had state challenges or games, he just managed to score big scores. That was just habitual for him.”

Konstas continued rising through the ranks, rapidly. He was the youngest member of the Australian Under-19 squad that toured England last year, smacking an unbeaten hundred during a Youth ODI in Beckenham.

After making his first-class debut later that year, Konstas helped Australia win January’s Under-19 Cricket World Cup in South Africa by scoring a century during a rain-affected contest against the West Indies in Kimberley.

So when the teenager compiled twin hundreds in the Sheffield Shield earlier this month, it hardly came as a surprise.

“He’s got a genuine love of the game, he works really hard,” Clark continued.

“He’s got a desire to bat for long times.

“As the game presents him something different, he’s always trying to find a way to work it out, and how he can get a solution out of it.”

Meanwhile, Konstas isn’t daunted by the prospect of failure, which every opener experiences throughout their career while facing the new ball. He understands low scores are an inevitability in his profession.

“I’ve seen him go through some lulls across the last four or five years, and I actually think that it’s good to go through a few of those when you’re young, because you’re going to get them at some stage,” Clark said.

“He’s always bounced back in the past when he’s had them, not that they’ve been massively long times, but obviously there’s more scrutiny when you move up levels.”

During last week’s Sheffield Shield match against Victoria at the MCG, Konstas threw his wicket away on 43 in the second innings after prancing down the pitch at Test spinner Todd Murphy and top-edging a slog towards point. His disappointment was apparent, but he won’t be weighed down by the missed opportunity.

“You make mistakes, everyone does,” Watson said.

“He’s human as we all are, but he’s got a full handle on what he needs to do to be his best.

I certainly wasn’t like that.”

Konstas’ next challenge will be proving he can adapt when confronted by foreign conditions, whether it’s surviving a bouncy WACA surface or taming a spinning deck in late March.

“To become a world-class batsman, you need to be able to adapt your game to what’s in front of you,” Larkin explained.

“It was a pretty good batting pitch in Sydney, so he wasn’t as challenged on that surface as he potentially will be when we go to other locations in Australia.

“He’s a hard worker. He trains hard. He focuses on his game and what the upcoming challenges are. I’m sure he’ll deal with all those challenges as they come to him.”

Larkin also expects Sheffield Shield bowlers to target him over the coming months, searching for potential weaknesses to exploit. South Australia’s quicks peppered him with bouncers at Cricket Central, but rival states will formulate more intricate plans ahead of the Big Bash League break.

Victorian seamer Scott Boland has already exposed an apparent vulnerability to inswinging deliveries, a chink in the armour that was identified during the Under-19 World Cup in South Africa.

“It’s not uncommon to see young talent burst onto the scene and then, inevitably, opposition do their homework, find out more about you, and the game becomes a little bit harder,” Larkin said.

“Now there’s a mountain more information out there for opposition teams to look at, and they’ll come towards him with new, refreshed plans.

“Your success doesn’t go up until the right forever. It’s more like a roller coaster.”

The million-dollar question remains. Is Konstas ready for Test cricket?

When posed the question, Watson didn’t hesitate with his answer: “Yep, absolutely.

“He’s very equipped technically, in every way.

“For me, this is a perfect opportunity to be able to get a young guy into an ageing batting order.

“Now’s the perfect opportunity, as long as Sam’s scoring runs, to be able to inject him into the Australian team.”

Konstas is seemingly in a battle alongside Western Australia’s Cameron Bancroft and Victoria’s Marcus Harris for the vacant spot in the Test side left by Green.

Bancroft and Harris both have prior Test experience and plenty of credits in the bank, while West Australian wicketkeeper Josh Inglis and South Australian captain Nathan McSweeney are also in the conversation.

Although national selectors may be reluctant to unleash Konstas in this summer’s Border-Gavaskar Trophy, there will be other opportunities on the horizon. Usman Khawaja, who turns 38 this year, is entering the twilight of his playing career, with Australia on the hunt for another opener when the Queenslander decides to hang up the boots.

“You never know until you get there,” Clark said of Konstas’ Test credentials.

“But I think Sam will have the belief that he can do it, which is probably the main thing.

“For him in the meantime, he just keeps working on his game and letting his bat do the talking and just see where things end up.”

Larkin agreed: “Whenever that opportunity comes for him, he won’t be intimidated by it. He’ll be enthused and excited by it.

“That’s probably almost his best characteristic as a young player. He arrived as a first-class cricketer last year, and he wasn’t intimidated by the level or the opponents or anything about it. He was excited to be there, which is not always the case.”

Australia A will face India A at Mackay’s Great Barrier Reef Arena from Thursday, with the first ball scheduled for 11am AEDT.