Image Credit- Getty
Adam Gilchrist took a moment to think. Did the
Australian cricket hero feel something when Travis Head batted with such muscle
and ruthlessness?
Although Head’s casual batting at No. 5 in Test
cricket and as an opener in ODIs has made comparisons to Gilchrist seem
sacrilegious, they cannot be avoided. Similar to Gilchrist, Head enjoys
striking the ball squarely and with great force.
Head was a step ahead of ‘Bazball’ with two
counterattacking hundreds in the 2021–22 Ashes series, and he hasn’t let up
since. He is the first opener in ODI cricket history to have scored over 1000
runs at a strike rate of over 110 and an average of over 50.
“There are some shots he hits, where if I watch
footage or myself, even when I was playing, it didn’t look like how it
felt,” Gilchrist said. “When it was happening, it felt like a
beautiful looking shot, but on replay it’s actually just been bludgeoned and
he’s got that ability.
“He can lose what we term traditional shape of a
shot, but because he’s going so aggressively and he’s got such power and great
hand-eye coordination, he still gets the ball away.
“I really enjoy that part of his batting and
watching it.”
Head’s successful comeback vindicated the gamble from
Australia’s hierarchy to stick with him after he was unavailable for the early
part of the tournament due to a broken hand.
“He clearly made an impact against New Zealand.
He’s one of a number of important factors for Australia’s title hopes,”
Gilchrist said. “His style is something that if you’re on board with it
you have to ride the highs and the inevitable lows.
“He won’t necessarily get the big score every
time and have the consistency when you’re that style of player. It’s about
making an impact and with that comes getting out early sometimes.
“But as long as everyone is riding that journey
with him…they’ll know that when he fires it’s going to go a long way to
helping Australia win.”