Former Australia captain Ian Chappell warned the solution to openers not really having a great run with the bat wasn’t necessarily in using Travis Head as an opener ahead of the Test series against India. Australia will look to regain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy on home ground as the Ben Stokes-led team takes on India in a five-match Test series across November 2024.
Australia Looking For Solid Opening Partnership
With David Warner’s retirement, Australia have been on the prowl for new opening combinations. The experience of Steve Smith has temporarily filled the positions, but his batting has not been confident, averaging just 28.50 as an opener-more than 38 runs behind his averages of 67.08 at No. 3 and 61.51 at No. 4-the team is searching for an alternative as Smith’s experience in the middle order could be useful in facing India in this showpiece event.
Travis Head, played a pivotal role as opener for Australia’s ODI World Cup-winning campaign in the white-ball formats, but Chappell has squashed that talk by writing in his latest column for ESPNcricinfo, disputing the fact that it would be considered a drastic change that may make very little difference to the Indian bowlers.
Travis Head Shouldn’t Open Against India In Tests
“Head opening in Test cricket is based on his unbridled success facing the new ball in both 50-over and T20 cricket. There’s no doubt Head, with his ultra-aggressive style, is the ideal player to open in the two short forms of the game. However, Test cricket is an entirely different proposition,” Chappell wrote in his column on ESPNCricinfo.
“Any move to open with Head that is designed to unsettle Jasprit Bumrah is asking a lot of the batter. Bumrah, and to a lesser extent Mohammad Siraj, are unlikely to be battered into altering their attacking mentality,” said Chappell.
Travis Head Extremely Effective In Middle Order
The experienced cricket analyst felt that Travis Head could be even more effective for Australia if he comes in when some runs have already been scored rather than being thrust into an early confrontation against Ravichandran Ashwin, who has done quite well with the new ball in recent times.
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“The wily R Ashwin is unlikely to be panicked by an opponent’s ultra-aggressive approach. The argument could be mounted that opening with Head means he’d be more settled facing Ashwin with some runs on the board. On the other hand, a smart opposing captain can utilise the offspinner with a newish ball,” Chappell said.
“Amongst any argument to use Head as a Test match opener, there’s a compelling counterpoint,” concluded the former Australia player.
