Travis Head

Since Michael Hussey's retirement, Australia have struggled to find a reliable middle order batsman who can both anchor and finish an innings. There have been a few who have auditioned for the spot, some with brief success as well but the consistency hasn't been there for a longer duration. Travis Head is touted to be capable of being that man and there is a feeling that he can emerge as one of the country's finest middle-order batsmen in limited-overs cricket. His ticket to international fame in the 2015-16 BBL season when he smoked a century to take the Adelaide Strikers to a victory from out of nowhere against the Sydney Sixers. An international debut followed within weeks as he was picked for the T20I series against India at home.

Head wasn't picked for the 2016 World T20 but since then, managed to be in the selectors' plans. In 50-overs cricket, Head started to become a vital cog of the Australian side. He has donned multiple roles with the bat - mostly batting in the middle order but also opened the innings in early 2017 as a part of the management's plan for the Champions Trophy that was to be held later that year. His debut as an opener saw him cracking a century and also being involved in a historical opening stand with David Warner who also got past the three-figure mark. That experiment didn't last long though and Head started getting back to his middle order routine, used mostly as a floater. Head however lost out on batting form in the 50-over format and was ignored for the 2019 WC as others in the form of Shaun Marsh and Marcus Stoinis were preferred over him.

But the ball tampering saga opened the doors of Test cricket for the southpaw. He was picked for the tour to the UAE and featured in the couple of Tests. He started off with a duck in his maiden innings but got things back on track in the second innings by scoring a fifty and also playing a pivotal role in ensuring Australia drew that Test in Dubai.

The following Test series was against India and Head started off with a classy fifty in the first Test at Adelaide. But despite getting off to starts in every knock in that series, Head could muster only two fifties. Then Sri Lanka toured down under and Head came to the party with scores of 84, 161 and 59* in the series to ensure he booked a berth in the middle order for Ashes 2019. He continued to be a regular member of Australia across formats and consolidated his place with good performances.

He had a breakout home Ashes series in 2021-22 where he was adjudged the Player of the Series for his 357 runs including two centuries. He was also instrumental in Australia’s World Test Championship win over India. His 163 complemented by Steve Smith’s 121 setup a massive 209-run victory for Australia at The Oval.

Aaron Finch’s retirement left an opener’s spot up for grabs and Travis Head got another opportunity at the top of the order. This time around he made it his own with solid performances and was named in Australia’s squad for the 2023 World Cup as an opener. However, an injury he sustained in a series against South Africa just before the tournament put his participation in jeopardy.

Since his First-class debut in 2011, Head had been a talked about name in the Australian domestic circuit. A pleasant stroke maker who also has incredible power in his shots, his biggest quality is his ability to pace an innings. Head kept scoring runs in the Sheffield Shield and also in the Matador Cup across seasons to make the selectors take notice of him. While he was always in their radar, Head knew that he had to push the envelope to fast track his spike in his career and that happened to his century in the 2015-16 BBL season. Since then, he hasn't looked back. Head's off-spin is more than handy and he operates cleverly, often disrupting the batsmen's rhythm. He has donned the fifth bowler's duties quite often for Australia and is now considered a dependable option in that department. Head is also an excellent fielder to go with his other credentials and this makes him an excellent package for white-ball cricket.

Written by Hariprasad Sadanandan, Kumar Abhisekh Das & Anurag Hegde