The spectators present on day two of the first Ashes Test at the Optus Stadium were on their feet in acknowledgement of Travis Head, who smashed a sensational 83-ball 123 to make light work of the 205-run chase against a fiery England pace attack. After playing a memorable knock, Head said his focus had been on blunting the new ball and avoiding early wickets while opening the batting in the absence of Usman Khawaja.
For the second consecutive time in the match, Khawaja did not come out to open the batting. While it was Marnus Labuschagne in the first innings, Head was sent in to hunt down the biggest fourth-innings run chase at the venue — and he did not disappoint.
“I was pretty keen to do it (opening the batting),” Head told Channel 7. “It just felt like the moment was right. I felt that if I could get away, given the plans they’ve had over the years for me — with the short-pitched bowling they’ve used against me — I thought that if I could get away with the new ball, it would probably take a bit of the sting out of it. It could help Jake Weatherald at the other end… I feel that when we stack Marnus and Smudge at three and four, it just feels right. So it was nice that I could move up.”
England were in the game after setting a target of more than 200. Given how batters struggled on day two, it looked a tough task, but Head and Jake Weatherald laid a strong platform by accumulating 60 runs in the first ten overs.
“I felt like I got off to a great start. Weathers played beautifully. And once we got to 50 or 60, I thought, that’s a great blueprint, a great start. You see the numbers ticking down and you think, you’ve got two world-class batters behind you — hopefully we’ve made their job a bit easier,” he added.
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