Head summons Warner as he reshapes Australian batting as he produced one of the great batting performances this series.
Two more contrasting alternatives were not available. Australia was considering Travis Head and Nathan Lyon as potential replacements for Usman Khawaja after his back went down for a second time during the first Test in Perth. They chose the former, as history demonstrates, and it has permanently altered Australia’s batting style.
On the second afternoon of the first Test, as the home team was getting ready to chase 205, there was a school of thought that said it was worth sacrificing a tailender who had nothing to lose in order to try and set up the innings for the middle order. But Head, who had remained at No. 5 in the first innings the day before, was insistent that it was his time and he was granted his wish.
“Going back to Perth, Trav put his hand up,” captain Steven Smith said. “I said it after that, we were tossing and turning between Nathan Lyon going out to bat and Travis Head, and thankfully we went the right way.”
Head finished with 629 runs, including three hundreds, after five Test matches. Although Mitchell Starc was rightfully awarded the Compton-Miller Medal, Head’s contribution to the series’ conclusion was just as significant. His 170 in Adelaide won the match, and England never recovered from his 83-ball assault in Perth. He finished his series in Sydney with a fluid 163.
In a Test series, no Australian opener has ever scored more than three hundreds. David Warner was the last to accomplish so in 2015; in the Ashes, it was Matthew Hayden in 2002–03. Head’s recasting at the top of the order appears to be the Warner replacement they have been looking for.
“The way he’s just come out and put the pressure on the opposition from ball one has been incredible and, yeah, similar to what Davey used to do,” Smith said.
England’s new-ball bowling was often poor in this series, but Head was able to score even from the reasonably good deliveries. “He just puts you right under the pump,” Smith said. “If you miss, it’s going to the fence and with the new ball as well, it helps guys batting behind him.
“The way he’s just come out and put the pressure on the opposition from ball one has been incredible and, yeah, similar to what Davey used to do,” Smith said.
England’s new-ball bowling was often poor in this series, but Head was able to score even from the reasonably good deliveries. “He just puts you right under the pump,” Smith said. “If you miss, it’s going to the fence and with the new ball as well, it helps guys batting behind him.