Travis Head did not so much open Australia’s second-innings chase as burst through the door. Promoted after Usman Khawaja’s back spasms flared up, the left-hander lashed 123 from 83 balls, carrying Australia to 205 for 1 in only 28.2 overs and wrapping up a surreal two-day victory over England at Perth Stadium.
The scoreboard tells its own story: 16 fours, four sixes and a target reeled in at a rate most one-day sides would envy. Yet Head admitted the build-up had been anything but straightforward.
“Probably not the prep that I would have liked going into the Test, but the process was right, the method was right,” he told Channel 7. “I did a lot of training. I trained all four days here, which is unheard of for me. I just found a little bit of rhythm.”
Those extra net sessions were insurance against self-doubt that can surface when red-ball cricket disappears for a few weeks.
“I’m never going to doubt my own ability, but I think when you have a big gap in Test cricket and you’re lying in bed a couple of nights before, you’re like, can I do it? Can you still produce it? Can you, as a cricketer each year, keep rolling out good scores in big moments? It’s not going to get much bigger than this.”
Once Khawaja was ruled out of the top order, Head volunteered to partner Jake Weatherald. The thinking was blunt: attack first, remove the sting of the new ball and let Marnus Labuschagne and Steven Smith walk in at three and four with a softer ball.
“I was pretty keen to do it,” Head explained. “Just felt like the moment was right. I felt like if I could get away, obviously the plans that they’ve had over the years with me, with short-pitch bowling where they’ve come to me, I thought that if I could get away with a new ball, [that could] probably take a little bit of sting out of it.”
The ploy worked. Weatherald’s neat 46 allowed the pair to post 137 in 17.5 overs before the opener was caught on the rope. By then England’s bowlers had run out of ideas and, crucially, overs.
“Felt like I got off to a great start. Weathers played beautifully. And once we sort of got 50, 60, I thought that’s a great blueprint, a great start. You see the numbers start ticking down, and you think, you’ve got two world-class batters behind you, hopefully make their job a bit easier.”
Steven Smith needed only one run himself, yet his post-match verdict on Head was unambiguous.
“He played some outrageous shots, even when he shanked it he got it in the gaps,” the captain said. “One of those days when you’re on, you’re on and you make the most of it and he got us home.”
Statistics back up Smith’s view. Head’s strike-rate of 148.19 is the second-highest for a Test century scored by an opener, behind only Brendon McCullum’s whirlwind in Christchurch a decade ago. Few knocks change the mood of a match quite so abruptly; England had looked in control only hours earlier.
For England, the setback will sting, yet there were hints of promise. Ollie Robinson and Mark Wood extracted awkward bounce with the new ball, but leaked boundaries once the shine faded. Captain Ben Stokes spoke briefly to host broadcasters, conceding, “We didn’t adapt quickly enough once the ball stopped doing as much.”
The series now moves to Adelaide with Australia 1-0 ahead after just two playing days. Head, meanwhile, has put any lingering questions about form or role on hold.
“I’m pleased to slap around a little bit today and get a score and get into the series and to be 1-0 up is a great way to contribute. But I wasn’t worried too much.”
Imperfect preparation, perfect timing – and an opening gambit that may yet redefine how Australia use their most mercurial middle-order stroke-maker.
