Amid Debate Over Khawaja, Travis Head Remains Comfortable to Open Innings Again

Travis Head dominated England single-handedly in the first Ashes test at Perth. His knock disrupted the bowling plans of England who were looking confident to defend the target in the second innings. The sudden promotion of Head to the top order surprised England, leaving them searching for answers.

The reason Head was chosen to open the innings was that Usman Khawaja was held back by the management due to concerns over a back injury. He experienced recurring back spasms on the second day, which prompted the management to call him back for a medical check-up first.

After playing an exceptional knock in Perth, Head believes that his job is far from over. He is once again ready to open the innings for Australia, should the management give him the opportunity. He said that if winning an Ashes test requires explosive batting, then he is prepared to take on the role again.

"I'm happy. If that's what is needed to win a Test match and if that's what's required then, yeah, I'm fine with it.” said Travis Head

The middle-order batter said that he is getting ready to play at any position. He understands that the batting order in the team can change in the upcoming matches, so being mentally ready to take on any challenge is the best approach for him.

"I'm preparing for anything at this stage… There's a fair bit to work through. I've just got here. We haven't really had many conversations over the last week. It's been about just spending some time out of the game as much as you can. You don't get much time to chill out in a massive series like this, where it's pretty full-on every single day." said Travis Head.

The explosive Australian batter is open to the idea of partnering with anyone at the top. He has enough experience opening in T20Is, so taking on the additional responsibility of leading the batting charge in tests would be a fantastic new opportunity for him.

"We've talked about that a lot: how you get there, and what personnel we have to be able to potentially do that and the personalities in the line-up. You've seen it a little bit in the T20 team as well, where we're trying to push the boundaries in power-hitting, and [asking] do we take singles at certain stages.” said Travis Head.

“I feel like I can play in any role, so I'm open to it, and it's just trying to work out in-game and in moments when that may come out and when you may use that.” added Travis Head.

He further said that all options are currently on the table, and the management is looking into various things before finalizing any combination for the next test.

"All options are on the table and have been for a long period of time about where this team can potentially get better, and where there's opportunities to potentially win games of cricket in moments. It's always been on the table." said Travis Head.

Adding Versatility to the Batting Order

He then acknowledged Pat Cummins’ comments that any batting order can be used to surprise the opposition. There is certainly a method behind it, but everything becomes possible with an open mindset.

"I agree with Pat. I think you could use this order and these players in a range of different ways and whatever ways that is to win games of cricket.” said Travis Head.

Australia will now take on England in the pink-ball test at Brisbane. Head said that teams can use different types of strategies in day-night tests as per the requirements of the situation. So, no batting order is permanent, and the options available on the table are quite different.  

"We've seen it in red-ball [Tests] but particularly probably pink-ball [Tests] as well. Non-traditional stuff, with double nightwatchmen, how you use orders, and how you use players in certain situations. So I agree with Pat that I think they're slightly over-rated… It's ever-evolving, and we'll see where we get to." concluded Travis Head.