Travis Head can’t see himself ever opening the batting in Australian conditions despite another great innings at the top of the order on the subcontinent.
Head vindicated the big selection call to drop Sam Konstas for the first Sri Lanka Test, whacking a half-century off only 35 balls and helping set the tone for a dominant Australian win.
“It was not by design to go out and score as quickly as I did,” said Head, who was eventually caught in the deep on 57.
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“It was the same mindset: If they present an opportunity to score, I want to score.”
The innings continued an impressive recent run of form on the subcontinent for Head, once considered too incompetent against spin to be selected at all in Asia.
Since his reinvention as the Australian batting order’s aggressor-in-chief, Head has averaged 56 at the top across the 2023 India tour and the ongoing Sri Lanka series.
Australia’s regular No.5 is set to remain there when the second match of the series begins in Galle on Thursday, with the team hunting a 2-0 series whitewash
But Head expects it is unlikely he would ever face the new ball in seaming conditions, even with Usman Khawaja’s retirement expected in the coming years.
Head pointed out Steve Smith, Nathan McSweeney and now Konstas had all been considered ahead of him in the 12 months since legendary opener David Warner retired.
“It feels like the middle order is the spot in Australia for me,” said Head.
“As long as I can keep being consistent in that position and keep trying to do as well as I can, that’s great but it’s probably unlikely that I would (open) in Australia with where we’ve been in the last two years.”
Travis Head. (Photo by Matt Roberts – CA/Cricket Australia via Getty Images)
Coach Andrew McDonald has already flagged changes to the batting order for the World Test Championship final against South Africa at Lord’s in June.
Head expects to make way for Konstas and move back to No.5 – barring selection pressure from recent debutant Josh Inglis and Cameron Green, who is set to recover in time from his back injury in time to bat.
“Most likely I’ll go back in the middle order and Sam will open,” Head said.
“Josh has had an amazing start, guys are playing well, Greeny’s going to be fit. It’s going to be hard to fit in.”
Meanwhile, Australia’s spinners could have even more joy in the second Sri Lanka Test than in their last-start win as early signs point to a “really good” wicket in Galle.
The squad returned to Galle International Cricket Stadium for their main training session on a hot Tuesday morning, three days after claiming their biggest-ever win on the subcontinent.
Australia set up nets on one of the centre wickets for the first time since arriving in Sri Lanka and came together to kick around a soccer ball and practise skills in the deep.
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Curators have rolled out a new pitch for the second Test that begins on Thursday and the tourists were pleased with what they saw in pursuit of a 2-0 series win.
As it stands, opener Head expects similar conditions to the series opener, with batters given a chance early on before spin becomes more of a factor.
If anything, Australian off-spinners Matt Kuhnneman and Nathan Lyon could have even more joy than last time as Head flags the chance for earlier turn.
Kuhnneman and Lyon combined for 16 of Australia’s 20 wickets in the first Test win.
“It probably looks a little bit dry but looks a really good wicket still,” Head said of the pitch.
“As we know, over the next couple of days we’ll see how that plays out and where we get to on the first morning. It probably looks like it’s got a little bit less grass on it than the previous Test.
“It looks like it will spin earlier, but it looks at the moment like the first couple of days will be good for batting and then it will spin.”
It’s a marked difference from Australia’s last trip, when Sri Lanka rolled out a raging turner in the series opener only to completely change tack for the second.
“I remember that one the ends being really, really dry and the middle being rolled very, very heavily to take ‘Starcy’ (paceman Mitch Starc) out of the game,” Head recalled of the series opener.
In the second match, the deck was a lot flatter and Australia fell by an innings and 39 runs – their biggest-ever loss to Sri Lanka.
Matthew Kuhnemann celebrates after taking the wicket of Dhananjaya de Silva (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)
But as in the recent series opener, Head expects Australia’s ability to make the most of spinning conditions later in the match will go a long way to sealing a first series win in Sri Lanka since 2011.
“It’s whether we can weigh up when that shift comes and be able to be ready and adapt to that. It looks like it’ll take spin early,” Head said.
“You could play on it right now and you’d be happy. You’ve got to take it for face value, look at it again tomorrow and then the next morning.
“We’ve still got two days so I guess anything could play out in these conditions.”
With its sprawling beaches and ample bars, Galle proved the perfect location for the Australian team to raise a glass to Head’s Allan Border Medal triumph on Monday night.
Head is always keen on a celebration, but was less eager on removing his sunglasses to front the press in bright conditions the next day.
“We had a very good night,” he said with a smile.
“I look forward to the next two days getting prepared but the likelihood is I probably won’t get another look at another one (Allan Border Medal) so I enjoyed the moment.”
© AAP