Australia opener Travis Head emerged victorious in one of the most fiercely contested battles for the International Cricket Council (ICC) Player of the Month Award for November 2023. Head outperformed India's Mohammed Shami and his Australian teammate Glenn Maxwell to secure the honour.
Both Shami and Maxwell had outstanding World Cup campaigns, solidifying their positions as among the best in modern-day cricket. However, it was Head's impactful performance, particularly after almost missing the World Cup for Australia, that played a crucial role in his favour.
Head repaid the selectors' trust in him, who retained him in the ODI World Cup squad despite a finger injury picked up during an ODI series in South Africa before the tournament. Although he was unavailable for the first half of the World Cup, Australia chose not to select a replacement and backed the left-handed opener, a decision that proved to be exactly right as he delivered two crucial knocks in the tournament.
In the big final against India, Head's catch of Rohit Sharma proved to be a game-changer as the Indian captain was looking set to convert his start into a big knock.
During the chase of 241, he played a remarkable innings, scoring 137 runs from 120 balls and guiding Australia to a six-wicket victory. Australia faced a challenging situation early in their innings, being reduced to 47/3. However, the 29-year-old maintained composure and accelerated the pace after navigating through a difficult phase with the new ball.
His outstanding innings featured 15 fours and four sixes.
In the semi-final against South Africa, Head contributed significantly with a quick 48-ball 62 in a low-scoring thriller on a challenging pitch for the batter. Head's counter-attacking innings followed his crucial role with the ball, where he picked up the wickets of Heinrich Klaasen and Marco Jansen.
Head credited his captain Pat Cummins, teammates, and the selectors for demonstrating confidence in him despite overcoming a challenging injury, allowing him to be part of the successful World Cup campaign.
"I was fortunate that they kept the faith in me for the World Cup after breaking my hand, so it was a great opportunity for me to pay them back. I felt the World Cup was amongst the best I have ever batted, so maybe having a rest before every campaign is the key," Head said, in an ICC statement.
"It's a great honour to be recognised with this award, but it is a team effort. Without my team-mates across all formats, this wouldn't have happened; so these types of awards are as much for them as they are for me."
Head's standout performances in the big-ticket matches allowed him to outshine Shami, who took 24 wickets in only seven matches including three five-wicket hauls.
Meanwhile, Maxwell contributed significantly by scoring 201 runs in a sensational run-chase against Afghanistan in a crucial game for Australia, concluding the tournament with a total of 400 runs.
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