Australia in Sri Lanka: Travis Head ready to take attack to Sri Lanka no matter where he bats in Galle
Australia’s middle-order enforcer Travis Head says he’s learned his lessons from past sub-continent tours and has vowed to take his signature attack to Sri Lanka regardless of where he bats.
Head looms as one of Australia’s most important weapons as they strive to avenge the series draw from their last visit to the Pearl of the Orient in 2022, but how best to employ the 31-year-old’s destructive talents is up for debate.
Speculation Head could take over as Usman Khawaja’s partner in Galle next week is rife after a successful stint opening the batting in India in 2023.
However, he didn’t face the new ball in Australia’s major training session in Dubai on Wednesday, employed alongside a middle-order group put through their paces by spin, including rising West Australian Cooper Connolly.
Across three outings in Pakistan, followed by two Sri Lanka Tests (also at Galle) in the space of four months back in 2022, Head managed just 91 runs from seven innings at an average of barely 15.
But Head said he is a different player now and would “enjoy the chaos” his aggressive approach created.
“Earlier in my career, I probably tried to bat a bit more traditionally and tried to back my forward defence and bat long periods of time,” he said today,” he said.
“But in these (subcontinent) conditions, it can feel like one of them has got your name on it, so if you can be more proactive, you can get the field spread out.
Camera IconAustralia’s Travis Head, centre, celebrates taking the wicket of Sri Lanka’s Dinesh Chandimal with his teammates during the day three of the first test cricket match between Australia and Sri Lanka in Galle, Sri Lanka, Friday, July 1, 2022. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena) Credit: Eranga Jayawardena/AP
“We had Pakistan not long before that (Sri Lanka) series, and I made the decision that I wanted to be a bit more proactive even before India (in 2023).
“But having learned from that and not been very successful with what I was doing, I tried to take a bit more of a relaxed approach about things.
“I tried to enjoy the chaos and perhaps take a bit more of a white-ball tempo in India, and it paid off. So, coming back here, I feel like I’m a different player and in a different position in my life.
“I know that’s not going to guarantee success, but I feel like I’m in a good place to be able to adapt to the conditions and be a bit more relaxed about things.”
The man Head could replace at the top of the order, 19-year-old sensation Sam Konstas, said if he gets listed in the playing XI for either of the Galle matches, fans can expect a more conventional gameplan.
Konstas took cricket by storm and triggered a furious flood of criticism from fragile rivals when he used a T20-style attack against the world’s best bowler and Indian superstar, Jasprit Bumrah, during the Boxing Day Test match.
His reverse ramp against Bumrah became one of the iconic images from Australia’s victorious series after he claimed 38 runs from the bowler’s opening spell on his way to a debut score of 60.
Despite Konstas saying he would always carry that positivity into an innings, he suggested it would not be to that MCG extreme in the future.
“I think when I bat my best, I have a nice balance, understanding when to take the game on and when to soak up the pressure,” Konstas told cricket.com.au.
“But I feel like you’re maybe going to see a different version of me with the quicks as well, just playing good cricket shots and putting pressure back on the bowlers.
“I’ve always been an opener. I love testing myself against the best bowlers, and I feel like I learn the most when I open.
“But if I’m going to bat four or five here, I’d love to take the opportunity. A few games I’ve batted at four or five, so I don’t think it’s a big change for me the way I go about things.
“So if I do get the opportunity, hopefully, grab it with both hands wherever I bat.”
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