Record-smashing Head fires up test opener debate

20.09.2024 - 05:51 channelnewsasia.com

With another century opening for Australia, Travis Head is looking more and more likely to open the batting in the home test series against India.Head blasted a match-winning, unbeaten 154 from 129 balls at Trent Bridge as world champions Australia stormed to a seven-wicket win over England in the first ODI on Thursday.It was the highest score by an Australian in a bilateral ODI match in England, coming just over a week after he clobbered the English with a 19-ball half-century in the T20 opener.It also came two weeks after Head set a powerplay record with the bat on the way to a 25-ball 80 in a T20 win over lowly Scotland.Head's development into an all-format dominator is timely for Australia given the retirement of opener David Warner, the last man to hold that role for the country.Warner's exit from international cricket left a huge vacuum in the test side that Steve Smith, for all his brilliance batting at number four, was unable to fill as an opener.Smith scored an unbeaten 91 against West Indies but it was his only half-century in eight innings.Head has batted in the middle order for most of his 49 tests and has provided good value since he returned to the side in late-2021 after being dropped for nearly a year.However, he slotted in as opener during last year's tour of India when Warner was injured.He made a good fist of it in a losing cause, scoring an unbeaten 49 in Indore and 90 in Ahmedabad.Australia coach Andrew McDonald has all but confirmed the top six batters who swept New Zealand 2-0 in the last tour will keep their places for the five-test home series against India.However, the order may be tweaked, with plenty of calls for Smith to drop back to his proven number four slot.Incumbent opener Usman Khawaja

cricket Testing record man UPS Ball David Warner Steve Smith Britain Scotland Australia New Zealand India county Travis county Andrew

Ahead of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy between India and Australia, former opener Shane Watson backed Steve Smith to open the innings in the upcoming serirs following his disappointing run at the top. The Border-Gavaskar Trophy series between India and Australia will begin on November 22, with the first Test at Perth. Over the years, India has regained an upper hand over Australia in the series. India has won its previous four series against Australia in a row, including two wins in Australia in the 2018-19 and 2020-21 season.

Travis Head Stars As Australia Beat England To Seal ODI Series Victory

Travis Head starred with both bat and ball as world champions Australia beat England by 49 runs in a rain-marred fifth and final one-day international on Sunday to complete a 3-2 series win. England were set for a huge total when opener Ben Duckett (107) and in-form captain Harry Brook shared a third-wicket stand of 132 in 98 balls. But from 202-2 slow bowling proved England's undoing as they lost their last eight wickets for 107 runs to be dismissed for 309, with part-time spinner Head taking an ODI best 4-28. Australia made a blistering start to their chase, with openers Matthew Short (58) and Head (31) sharing a stand of 78 in slightly more than seven overs.

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