Travis Head believes that opening the batting in Test cricket is a “specialist job” as he ruled himself out of contention to replace David Warner. Having powered Australia to an ODI World Cup triumph with spectacular batting, Head presented a potentially intriguing option to succeed Warner who is set to retire after the upcoming Test series against Pakistan. Australia head coach Andrew McDonald recently hinted that replacing Warner may not come down to a straight like-for-like opening batter. But Head said he was firmly entrenched in the middle-order where his swashbuckling batting has thrived over the past two years. With his position entrenched, Head’s focus turned to quickly switching to Test cricket. He played the final three games, but was unable to capitalise on strong starts in each of his innings. In his first hit-out against the red ball for months, Head was perhaps unsurprisingly sluggish against Australia’s quicks during a batting session. Since his heroics at the World Cup, Head has become something of a cult hero in Australia with even some of his compatriots dressing up as him for Christmas parties. He is set to be a fan favourite at the Perth Test in a city where the locals have had an uneasy relationship with the national team.
