Head explains rationale in him rolling his arm with the ball as he snared the crucial wicket of Rishabh Pant post-tea.
Head explains he was helping with Australia’s over-rate as he was given the ball.
Although skipper Pat Cummins acknowledged that Travis Head was being employed in part to increase the over-rate, the batsman has crushed Indian hearts on a few occasions. However, at the MCG, he took the wicket that allowed Australia to make a spectacular charge in the final session.
When India started the session just three runs behind, Head and Nathan Lyon rushed through their overs after tea. Head caught Rishabh Pant with a long hop that was dragged to wide long-on. Early in the last hour of day five, Australia secured victory by taking seven wickets in 21 overs.
In the World Test Championship [WTC], slow over-rates can result in point deductions. Australia, the reigning champions, were trailed for the majority of the match after paying the price for such penalties in the first cycle. Whether they had caught up by the end of the game has not yet been verified. With a win in Sydney, Australia may guarantee their place in the WTC final at Lord’s, where they are bidding to join South Africa.
“He’s got a bit of a Midas touch,” Cummins said of Head’s bowling at the presentation. “I’ll give the coach credit for that one [bringing him on]. Also, we were a bit behind on the over-rate, so we thought, get Trav in there, [he] might get a breakthrough and help us out with some overs.”
Head referenced his lean returns with the bat in this Test, where he made 0 and 1, having scored centuries in Adelaide and Brisbane when asked about his key contribution.
“I’ve had four-and-a-half days off, didn’t feature, thought I’d watch the boys bat this week,” he told the host broadcaster. “And nice to contribute. I got told I was bowling [at tea], wasn’t too pleased about things. We are a pretty relaxed group, [we] don’t change too much, we knew what we had to do. Pat and Ronnie [head coach Andrew McDonald] come up with the plans, had a chat and we were able to go out and execute it.
“It [the Test] ebbed and flowed throughout the five days and [was] probably one of the best Test matches I’ve been involved in. No matter what the result was going to be, two teams went at it pretty hard. There were moments where both teams stepped up, moments where they fought and it’s just nice we’ve been able to come out with the win. It’s been a long five days.”
When asked about plans for Pant specifically, Head joked. “Bowl a rank [long hop] and have everyone on the fence. I just threw them down there, see what happens and it turned our way.”