Travis Head

Touted as a promising youngster who burst onto the scene with a sensational century in the 2015-16 BBL season, Travis Head has evolved as a reliable batsman for Australia in the middle order post the sandpaper scandal. The southpaw is a sensational striker of the ball and was tipped to be the next reliable finisher for Australia like a Michael Hussey post his retirement. Following a breathtaking century in the BBL, he was fast-tracked into the Australian T20 team and was picked for the home T20I series against India. 

Ever since his first-class debut in 2011, Head has made headlines with some exquisite batting. He has exceptional bottom hand power and can hit the ball a long way. Owing to consistent performances in both first-class and List A cricket, the selectors had to take notice of the powerful striker. The century in the BBL was the icing on the cake as he single-handedly won a match for his franchise Adelaide Strikers against the Sydney Strikers. 

He didn’t manage to book a spot for the 2016 T20 World Cup but has been on the Australian selection radar. Head has been given several roles in his career so far. He has batted quite often in his preferred middle-order slot but has also been asked to open the innings on quite a few occasions. He started off opening the innings in 2017 when Australia was making plans of using him as an opener in the Champions Trophy. He smashed a sensation century in his opening debut and was also involved in a breathtaking stand with David Warner who also scored a century. 

However, since then the ploy didn’t work out and Head was asked to bat in his preferred middle order. He continued to establish himself in the limited-overs team but a dip in form saw him getting dropped ahead of the 2019 World Cup in favor of players like Shaun Marsh and Marcus Stoinis who came into the tournament on the back of some good form. 

Head was nowhere in the scheme of things as far as Test cricket was concerned but a sandpaper scandal paved way for a return In Test cricket. He was selected for the tour of UAE against Pakistan and started off with a duck in his first innings. The southpaw scored a half-century in the 2nd innings enabling Australia to save the Test match from a precarious situation. 

He kept his spot for the home Test series against India in the absence of David Warner and Steve Smith. He started off with a good half-century in the opening Test at Adelaide. However, he failed to convert his starts in the upcoming matches. Sri Lanka’s tour proved to be the series where Head cemented his place in the middle order. He returned with scores of 84, 161, and 59 and was selected in the 2019 Ashes tour. To back with his exceptional batting abilities, Head is also a reliable occasional off-spinner and can chip in with some overs in limited-overs cricket.