'Therein lies the challenge': Gilly on Konstas form
Right now, Sam Konstas needs a good mentor.
Adam Gilchrist has no doubt that Konstas has the right people in his corner, with the cricketing great noting the influence of his former Australian teammate Shane Watson.
But with everyone happy to give their opinion ahead of the Ashes, there's a lot of noise around the young gun opener.
"Therein lies the challenge as a young athlete - working out which bits of advice are the most suited to you and which bits maybe you don't need to adhere to," Gilchrist told AAP.
Travis Head faced much the same issue when he was dropped from the Australian team. Former captain Greg Chappell now raves about how well Head has transformed his game, by batting on instinct and with intent.
Head's middle-order batting begs some comparison to Gilchrist, whose blazing innings were a feature of the Test team's domination in the 2000s.
"I love the way he plays and I think that's spot-on," he said of Chappell's thoughts about Head.
"He made a decision when he did get back in the team, that he was just going to play his way and not carry too much preconceived expectation or preconceived plan - trust that natural instinct and ability.
"That doesn't mean it's easy. You have to be careful.
"You still have to do all your work, all your preparation, you still have to give yourself the best chance to allow that natural talent and instinct to come through in competition. There lies the balance."
While Gilchrist is best known now as a commentator - and he's started marketing a brand of tequila - mentoring also means a lot to the former wicketkeeper.
Through the Sport Australia Hall Of Fame scholarship program, he met boxer Caitlin Parker in 2015. Last year, her bronze in Paris made her the first Australian woman to win an Olympic boxing medal.
Parker has spoken glowingly of Gilchrist's influence. He will now start working with 17-year-old West Australian mountain biker Connor Wright through the program.
Gilchrist knows about as much about mountain biking as he did about boxing when he met Parker - "not much".
"We've just forged such a great relationship. It was amazing to be on that journey with Caitlin, from such a young age," he said.
"She's just achieved so much, in and out of the ring. That was a really fulfilling experience for me, so when I was asked again I had no hesitation."
Gilchrist also has learned a lot.
"You start to learn how you developed and what aspects of that journey you can carry forward - it's a nice refresher, almost, for yourself," he said.
As for the upcoming Ashes, Gilchrist has no insight into how the Australian middle order might look, besides Head and Alex Carey.
"I'm still not sure about if it's going to be (Beau) Webster at six or Green at five and Head at six," he said.
"It would be a tough call if he (Webster) is left out, but they're trying to get Green in there. Is Green going to be fit (for the first Test)?"
Gilchrist backs Australia to win the Ashes, but says it will be a fight.
"I'm just plucking numbers, I have no sense of authority on this, but let's say 3-1 Australia," he said.
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