Travis Head believes his resurrection as a one-day player can help him become a better Test batsman and comes with the added excitement of a 50-over World Cup less than a year away.
The dashing left-hander makes his reappearance in white ball cricket for Australia against England at his beloved Adelaide Oval on Thursday, replacing the retired Aaron Finch as an opening batsman in the one-day side for the three-match series.
Travis Head fronts media at Adelaide Oval on Tuesday.Credit:Getty
“The eyes obviously go to another World Cup now,” Head said before training on Tuesday. “We’ve got 12 months and it starts Thursday and there’s no better way to go up against the best team in the world.”
Head was an incumbent in the one-day team heading towards the 2019 50-over World Cup in England but lost his place when Steve Smith and Dave Warner returned after their 12-month bans imposed over the Cape Town ball-tampering scandal.
“Looking back at the extended period I got last time in my career, the 12 months leading into the World Cup was the time I missed out, so having reversed that now and being 12 months out from one and getting an opportunity now to hopefully get a chance and be in the team is an exciting one.
After a modest start to the season for South Australia, with only two half-centuries and five single-figure scores across Sheffield Shield and domestic one-day matches, Head will be looking to cash in during the three games against England, who may struggle to come up after winning the T20 World Cup last Sunday.
Travis Head was player of the series for the Ashes.Credit:Getty
Head sliced and diced England last summer as the leading run-scorer in the Ashes, despite missing a Test through Covid. He was player of the match in the first and last Tests with centuries and player of the series, scoring 357 runs at an average just under 60.
However, with tours of India and the Ashes next year, he will need to improve his performances overseas to ensure he remains a regular member of the team. This year Head averaged a modest 23 during a three-Test tour of Pakistan and less than eight across two Tests in Sri Lanka.
He points to his one-day performances in Pakistan, 101, 89 and 0, opening the batting in place of David Warner, who went home to rest, and 23, 70 not out and 27 in Sri Lanka as a middle order injury replacement for Marcus Stoinis.
“I take confidence in that it was able to work for one day cricket,” Head said. “Now that still applies in Test cricket, still being really positive and trying to score.
“I felt like I moved really well. I didn’t get runs. That’s, part and parcel of it. That’s fine. A lot of good players have gone over and not done particularly well on the first couple of series (in the subcontinent).
“So for me, it’s about learning as much as I can. Adapting as much as I can and just working extremely hard. Then again, you can’t look too far ahead. I’ve got to have a really good summer.”
