'Some of them need a job': Head slams AUS greats after Hayden's 'greatest pile of mediocrity' comment

Australian Test cricket has a batting problem. They have an experienced bowling attack but their batters have been inconsistent. Travis Head has delivered a few blinders since his promotion as opener but on the other end it is a Russian roulette. While Australia are still at the top of World Test Championship (WTC) 2025-27 standings, they copped criticism after historic first defeat to Bangladesh at home. As Australia gear up for the Test series on South Africa soil, the selectors have copped criticism for picking players who have ‘mediocre’ numbers. Head feels that players are 'unfairly judged' by former cricketers.

“I think it’s unfairly judged a fair bit from a group of past players, pretty much that put the bullet through a lot of players, which I think is unfair. But that’s what they’re paid to do. Some of them need a job, so they go after us, and that’s totally fine,” Head said at the press conference ahead of the Test series opener in Durban.

“This group is strong enough to deal with those sorts of things. That’s how it is. It’s unfortunate sometimes to have some of that feedback from a generation of players that we have huge respect for, but that’s the caper.”

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Hayden had pointed out the recall of Nic Maddinson to the Test squad after nearly a decade. 34-year-old Maddinson averages just over 37 in first-class cricket which doesn't sit well with Hayden who wants more consistent performers. He feels that the selection is a disrespect to Australia’s first-class cricket structure.

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Head justified the selection by citing Mr. Cricket aka Michael Hussey who turned out to be a late bloomer in Test cricket. 

“We need mature guys that know what they need to be doing. And I think that revolves back to why we’ve been so good over a period of time and why Australian cricket was so good back then in that era, because you’d bring in the Mike Husseys of the world, who are 30, who are tried and tested and know what they need to do,” the hard-hitting batter said.

Head had also responded to former Australian skipper Allan Border suggesting a batting position change. Border feels that Head shouldn't open in the Test series against the Proteas and return to bat at no.5. Head revealed that the comments made by Border are for headlines. 

“I have laughed at a fair bit of it because if a traditional opening batter had pushed out the same sort of numbers in his first 20 innings, I think he’d be pretty safe and not talked about in the way that it has been talked about. It’s a lot of headline stuff.”

Head’s stats as Test opener 

So far, Head has opened in 12 Tests. He averages 52.1 with 990 runs from 20 innings including three centuries and two fifties. He hasn't shied away from taking on the opposition and scored at a strike rate of 83.68. He is the third-highest run-scorer as an Australian opener in Tests in 2020s.

Head closing in on 5,000-mark
Head is nearing a milestone in Test cricket. He needs to score 347 runs on the South Africa tour to become 51st Australian batter to score 5,000 runs in Test cricket.

Also, Head needs 86 more runs to complete 1,000 runs in the ongoing WTC cycle. He will become the fourth batter after England captain Joe Root and Harry Brook and India skipper Shubman Gill to achieve the feat. He is Australia's leading run scorer in WTC 2025-27 by a long way. From 19 innings, he has scored 914 runs at an average of 48.10. 

Head's Test record vs South Africa

So far, Head has scored 233 runs from six innings at an average of 38.83 featuring three fifties. In the WTC 2025 final against South Africa, he batted in the middle order and registered scores of 11 and 9.

Head’s recent form

Head had recently scored 22 runs in the warm-up red-ball game against Cricket South Africa's Invitational XI. He wasn’t at his best in the Test series against Bangladesh, scoring 61 runs from three innings.

Australia’s Test squad vs South Africa

Meanwhile, Australia have made changes to their squad. In addition to Maddinson, they have called up Sam Harper to the squad. The wicketkeeper-batter recently scored a century for Australia A against India A. But, Cameron Green won’t feature in the opening Test due to an abdominal strain. 

Australia squad: Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey (wk), Cooper Connolly, Cameron Green, Sam Harper (wk), Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Matthew Kuhnemann, Marnus Labuschagne, Nic Maddinson, Nathan Lyon, Michael Neser, Matthew Renshaw, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Beau Webster.

Will Rabada play?

Kagiso Rabada is yet to be declared fully fit to return to action. Rabada may miss the opening Test which may open the doors for Anrich Nortje's first Test in three years. Off-spinner Simon Harmer revealed that the call on Rabada is likely to be taken very close to the first Test.

“Everybody wants him to play. The spectators, us in the changeroom, the Australians. I don’t know exactly where he’s at,” Harmer said. 

“A decision will be made as close to the [start of the] game as possible. 

“So I really hope he does get in for the first Test but there’s a lot of cricket this summer. We don't want to risk short-term gain for long-term damage.”

If Rabada misses out, it will be a huge blow for the hosts as he has picked up 58 wickets against the Australians in 11 Tests including four five-wicket hauls.

South Africa may go into the game with two spinners Keshav Maharaj and Harmer. Like Green, South Africa’s Tony de Zorzi has been ruled out the first Test as well. 

South Africa squad: Temba Bavuma (c), Marques Ackerman, David Bedingham, Corbin Bosch, Gerald Coetzee, Tony de Zorzi, Simon Harmer, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, Wiaan Mulder, Senuran Muthusamy, Anrich Nortje, Dane Paterson, Kagiso Rabada, Ryan Rickelton (wk), Tristan Stubbs, Kyle Verreynne (wk).