After a thrilling Ashes series that featured three hundreds, Travis Head stated on Tuesday that he will probably continue to start for Australia in the future.
Since Usman Khawaja’s back injury forced him to move to the top of the order in the second innings of the first Test in Perth, the 32-year-old has been outstanding.
He scored 170 at Adelaide after winning the match with a 123 in Perth, and then he scored a powerful 163 in Sydney to put Australia ahead in the fifth and final Test.
Ahead of day four, they lead by 134 runs with three wickets remaining. Head has been crucial to the hosts’ victory in the series.
“I’ve enjoyed it, it’s been good and very pleased to be able to contribute the way I have here,” Head said after hitting a 12th Test century.
“Something like 600 runs now (in the series). I’m not normally the one that’s doing the heavy lifting as such.
“The likes of Marnus (Labuschagne) and Smudge (Steve Smith) over the last period of time have been the heavy-lifters and the guys that have really, really driven games, and Davey (Warner).
“I’ve been very lucky to bat around those guys. So nice to pull my finger out and help them out on the other side.”
“Probably likely,” he said when asked if it was obvious that he would stay at the top, especially since Khawaja was retiring after the Sydney Test.
“But again, this rolling order and where we think guys are going to match up and where we’re going to fit guys in is still where my head’s at.
“And I think the leadership of the group, the selectors, we’ve been pretty open about that — how we match up and how we want to best suit this team. I’ve always said I’m happy either way.”
Smith, the stand-in captain, was also on fire on Tuesday, scoring his 37th century to go undefeated on 129. Head stated that he thought Smith would continue to play while he was enjoying himself, despite the 36-year-old’s lack of commitment to his long-term career.
“I think he prides himself on obviously his batting ability, but he also brings a lot in leadership,” he said.
“I think he prides himself on his leadership and he’s done a fantastic job when he has done that, so I think that’s also a motivation to continue.
“It feels that way. He’s just wanting to contribute to this team and win as many Tests as possible. And while he’s enjoying it, he’s going to hang around.”
