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Australia captain Steve Smith showered praise on Travis Head for his exceptional hundred against England in the Ashes opener. After the bowlers had been completely on top of the batters on Day 1, things totally changed on the next day as Head dominated on the Perth pitch where many had failed before him. The left-hand batter completed his tenth century of the longest format and took the Baggy Greens to a comprehensive 8-wicket win.
Smith revealed that Head wasn't satisfied with their batting order and asked for a major change ahead of their second innings. He himself wanted to open the innings even though he generally bats in the middle-order in the format. The team management agreed with Head and this decision went on to win them the match and give them a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.
"That innings was out of this world, one of those days when he's on and he got us home. At tea time, had discussions [about the order], didn't like how it had gone in the first innings. He said he'd do it. [Other candidates?] Nathan Lyon was talked about, to be honest. Made the right decision in the end. That's right up there, fourth innings. The way he went about his business. And Marnus did a wonderful job at the other end as well," Smith said during the post-match presentation.
Smith's praise for Starc
He also hailed Mitchell Starc, who finished the game with stellar bowling figures of 10/113 and broke a massive number of records. He had racked up seven scalps in the first innings itself and played a key role in England being bundled out for low totals in both of their innings. Smith pointed out how Starc had a lot of pressure on him coming into the match as both Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood were absent, however he still went on to pull off one of his greatest bowling performances in Tests.
"Unbelievable. Two of the big three out, a lot on his shoulders. He bowled beautifully. It was a terrible ball, but the way he bowled to take seven was incredible. They backed it up today, Scott Boland was exceptional. [Doggett] Got a couple of key wickets, played nicely. Knows how to go about his business," Smith stated.
Second Test to be held in Brisbane
Australia will be hoping to maintain their sublime form as they head into the second Ashes Test that will be played at The Gabba in day-night format from December 4. On the other hand, England have now lost their previous two Tests and will be in desperate need of a win in the second game as another loss will not only see their chances of a series victory take a major hit, but it will also see their win percentage drop even further on the World Test Championship (WTC) standings.
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