Travis Head scored a spectacular century in the first ODI against England at Trent Bridge, Nottingham on Thursday, September 19. After orchestrating a comfortable seven-wicket win, the southpaw said that he is eager to keep the chatter on around his promotion as Australia’s Test opener amid his stellar form at the top of the order in the white-ball formats.
With six overs remaining, Head struck a career-high 154 not out off 129 balls to help Australia chase down a 316-run total. The 30-year-old was questioned if he would want to open in the game’s longest format after his valiant efforts gave the tourists a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. Notably, following David Warner’s retirement from Test cricket earlier this year, Australia attempted Steve Smith at the top of the order. The right-hand batter has only averaged a pitiful 28.50 from eight innings at the top, indicating that the switch hasn’t been successful thus far.
Head chose to remain neutral on the issue, but he urged cricket fans to continue conjecturing. He added that he is loving his playing and feels much more at ease than he did earlier in his career.
“Retain the conversation; it adds interest. I won’t go into that right now. I’ll just watch how that unfolds. I’ve put in a lot of effort over the past several years, so I think my style of play is a little looser today. I try to enjoy what I’m doing and accept things as they are. Head said, “It’s coming off in the way I’m playing,” according to cricket.com.au.
Travis Head’s numbers as Test opener
Although Head has spent the majority of his time in Test cricket playing at number five, the daring batsman has also opened in the format.
Also Read: ENG vs AUS 2024: Marnus Labuschagne achieves a unique accomplishment, becoming the first player to do so in the history of ODI
In five innings at the top of the order, he has amassed 223 runs at an average of 55.75 while batting. Head, who hammered 90 in Ahmedabad, also has a half-century as an opener. Beginning in November, Pat Cummins and company will host India for five Test matches. It will be intriguing to observe which starting lineup Australia chooses for the high-voltage series.
India
