While Cummins said the desire to succeed was less just because of his young age, he recalled his own feeling that there was less pressure given the speed of his debut and his inexperience.

“I said that to Sam the other day. “I remember as an 18-year-old thinking I had a lot more scope because I was young,” Cummins said. “I almost felt like if I didn’t have a great game it wouldn’t be my fault, it would be the fault of the select team that picked me. It was like they were the idiots who picked an 18 year old. This is you.’ You’re starting your career so young, it’s Boxing Day, it doesn’t get any better than that, so just enjoy the moment.

“I thought for a while about why or how I was there, how it could have happened so quickly. I just remember being really excited and it was similar to Sammy this week. There’s a certain level of naivety that you just want to go out and play.” Just like you do when you’re in the backyard as a kid: embrace the game, have fun, and don’t think about it too much.

“That’s the message to Sam. That’s exactly how I felt as an 18-year-old, I was just really excited, and once the game starts you go into game mode and it’s like any other game.”

Citing a specific memory from his experience in Johannesburg, Cummins added: “On my debut I tried to hit Dale Steyn over the head for runs and just thought it made sense at the time. Now I look back and it’s like, ‘Man, I would have been crucified if that hadn’t come about,’ so I think that naivety has some merit.”

Konstas had a strong support group who flew to Melbourne for his debut, along with friends, family and his mentor Shane Watson, but Cummins sensed someone who could cope well with his dramatic rise.

“He’s pretty laid back, a lot of fun, likes to joke around and make fun of himself and others,” Cummins said. “We always encourage him to be himself. He seems to have a good head on his shoulders for a 19-year-old, so we’re there to support him.”

Konstas’ debut will be one of two changes for Australia from the Gabba Test, with Scott Boland returning to their home ground in place of the injured Josh Hazlewood. Travis Head completed a fitness test on Christmas Day after leaving Brisbane with a quadriceps strain, but Cummins said he was “fully fit”.

Head was the most successful batsman in the series with 409 runs in five innings, including two consecutive centuries in Adelaide and Brisbane. The next best is KL Rahul with 235 runs. He would have been a huge hole to fill in the batting order. “He’s hitting the ball as well as I’ve ever seen him hit, long may that continue,” Cummins said.

Should the Melbourne Test go the distance, there will only be a three-day turnaround until the final game at the SCG on January 3, which could pose some challenges for the Quicks, although head coach Andrew McDonald was confident on Christmas Eve that Cummins and Mitchell Starc would be able to get through. As the Adelaide Test was short and Brisbane was heavily affected by rain, the overall workload was not too heavy.