Australia head coach Andrew McDonald is open to the idea of a flexible opening batter amid the debate over Travis Head replacing Usman Khawaja as an opener for the remainder of the Ashes series.
Head smashed a blistering century to help his team win the first Ashes Test within two days at Perth Stadium. In a game where most batters struggled, Head was the only centurion while opening the batting. The southpaw earned a promotion after Khawaja, the incumbent opener, was deemed unfit to bat in the fourth innings. Head’s century has made him a favourite contender for the opening slot. The team management will have to decide whether they want to continue with a traditional opener in Khawaja or a more dynamic option in Head.
“We’ve sort of hypothesised around a middle-order player going up to the top order if the second innings happened to flatten out,” McDonald said on Head’s promotion. “In particular, if we needed quick runs and the wicket was going to deteriorate. So in our strategy and planning, we have considered that from time to time.”
The Australian opening debate looks far from settled, and McDonald remains open to the idea of a batting reshuffle depending on the match situation and the composition of the opposition bowling attack.
“We’ve had a conversation about Travis opening the batting for a long period of time, and Trav has been on the record this week, and previously, around that as well. I suppose, now that it’s out there, yes, happy to talk about it. Will we do it? If it presents at the right time, potentially,” he added.
McDonald also issued an update on Khawaja, who is battling cramps.
“We get to camp in six days’ time. It’s a long way out, a lot of information to gather between now and then, and hopefully Usman is fit and available for selection,” McDonald said of Khawaja.
Australia are likely to make changes for the second Ashes Test, which will be a day-night affair at the Gabba in Brisbane, starting on December 4.
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