Travis Head becomes Sam Konstas’ No. 1 enemy after stealing his place in Australia’s 11 against Sri Lanka
Australia’s star batsman Travis Head gets a chance to open the batting in the upcoming two-match Test series against Sri Lanka. Head regularly opens for Australia in white-ball cricket, but bats in the middle order in Tests.
However, Australia chairman of selectors George Bailey has not ruled out getting Travis Head to open the batting in the Test series against Sri Lanka due to spin-friendly conditions in the subcontinent.
If Head opens the batting, it will not bode well for young opener Sam Konstas who recently made his Test debut against India. Konstas had an exciting start to his Test career as he attacked the opposition.
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Travis Head is likely to open in Sri Lanka
Cricket Australia chairman of the board George Bailey sees Travis Head as an X-factor player who can turn the game on its head. However, he said that the final decision will be made by the coach and the captain, depending on the composition of the team.
Head temporarily opened the game for Australia during the 2023 tour of India when David Warner was ruled out due to injury. He scored 223 runs in five innings at an impressive average of 55.75 and hit at a strike rate of 71.47.
“Trav (Travis Head) has an option (to open). We have a number of options and there have been some preliminary discussions about where that might end up and that might depend on the makeup of that first XI. I think Andrew (McDonald, head coach) and Steve (Smith, captain) will agree on that in due course when we get to Sri Lanka,” Bailey told reporters as he announced the squad.
Travis Head has an aggressive hitting style and can be a deadly striker. He has been in great form over the last few years across all formats. He was the top run-getter in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy recently with 448 runs in five Tests at an average of 56.
He scored all his runs at a strike rate of 92.56 with 2 hundreds and fifty. Head is known as a good player of spin and can perfectly complement Usman Khawaja at the top. Khawaja usually likes to take his time which can allow Head to come into his own and play freely.
Will Sam Konstas be kicked out?
Travis Head’s move up top will see Sam Konstas dropped from the Playing XI. Konstas was impressive in his debut series and made a name for himself by playing an aggressive type of cricket unconcerned about the power of the opposition.
He played uncharacteristic shots to arguably the best bowler in the world at the moment, Jasprit Bumrah. He wasn’t afraid to step back to smash Bumrah in the yard despite being beaten on numerous occasions.
George Bailey praised the youngster for his brave batting but feels the tour of Sri Lanka will provide plenty of insight into Konstas’ ability. He backed the opener’s technique to thrive in spin-friendly conditions.
“I guess you never really know (how they’ll handle certain conditions) until someone faces them,” he said. “What we’ve seen is that he’s a quick learner. (He’s) absorbing a lot of information,” Bailey said.
“So (we) expect him to get a lot out of it. I know from his play in Australia and the opportunities he’s (had) in different parts of the world, we think he’s got a game that’s good in a suit and a technique that can stand up,” he pointed out.
Australia will play a two-match Test series against Sri Lanka. In the absence of Pat Cummins, Steve Smith will lead the team with Travis Head as vice-captain. Australia also picked spinners like Todd Murphy and Matt Kuhnemann to complement Nathan Lyon.
Australian national team for the tour of Sri Lanka
Steve Smith (C), Sean Abbott, Scott Boland, Alex Carey (ie), Cooper Connolly, Travis Head (VC), Josh Inglis (ie), Usman Khawaja, Sam Konstas, Matt Kuhnemann, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Nathan McSweeney, Todd Murphy, Mitchell Starc, Beau Webster.
