You’d think so, but some of the reactions to Konstas-mania have been patently absurd, reflecting once again how a worryingly large chunk of Australian sport doesn’t know how to act when they see something that challenges their delicate sensibilities. It has further exposed a sort of generational divide between younger fans fascinated by self-assured mould-breakers like Konstas, and risk-averse old-school types who see him as a reflection of everything that’s wrong with the modern world.

It doesn’t matter that most clued-up cricketing observers have pointed out the fact Konstas is usually much more circumspect with the bat. The moment he played his first ramp shot on Boxing Day, the narrative arc was set. Media, both social and traditional, is littered with people writing him off, rubbishing his credentials as a Test batsman and proclaiming he never will be unless he curbs his enthusiasm and starts respecting the game. That he is somehow lost and needs to find himself. That the way he bats points to some kind of personality flaw. That he has an ego, is arrogant, a problem child.

Nobody even knows what was actually said between Konstas and Kohli (or Bumrah), but many have assumed the worst and formed views accordingly. Already. About a guy they’d probably not even heard of a few months ago, and have heard speak publicly maybe a handful of times.

Some of this is to be expected. After all, Test cricket is hardly known for progressivism – and that very much applies here in Australia, the land of the tall poppy. A kid with a Greek surname in the team is unusual enough. But one who wears green Adidas Sambas to functions at Kirribilli House, death-stares Kohli, mouths off at Bumrah, and then hams it up for the crowd after going the slog? On debut?

We call ourselves a nation of larrikins. We say we want authenticity. We think we want different. But when presented with an athlete who doesn’t conform to the usual parameters, who dares to express themselves – and there are many such cases – we immediately seek to change them, to shove them into a box. We love them when they’re winning, then we tut-tut when they fail. We can’t accept them as they are, flaws and all; they must be perfect.

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You can follow sport and barrack whichever way you want, but I find it’s much easier, fairer and better to just chill out and let things happen, rather than rushing straight to judgment. Sit back and enjoy the show sometimes instead of skipping ahead and predicting how it will end. Let youngsters make mistakes and give them the chance to learn from them, instead of getting angry, jumping on their backs and talking down to them.

Konstas has made a good start to his Test career, all things considered. We will see more sides to his game. He will improve. He will mature. Of course he bloody will. He’s 19! That’s how it works. Give him a break, and it might even happen quicker.

As Pat Cummins said after stumps on Sunday, it’s not illegal to puff your chest out and play a few cricket shots – but when faced with a teenager who does exactly those things, and in a way that suggests he is confident about who he is and what he brings, the reflex is to put him back in his place.

He was talking mainly about India, but Aussies are as guilty of this as anyone.

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