Australia's Travis Head played one of the best knocks in the history of Ashes run chases. On a wicket where batters struggled to occupy the crease, Head walked out to bat in the absence of an injured Usman Khawaja, taking the responsibility and carrying out the task in his typical chaotic fashion. Head did not let the bowlers settle with their short ball ploy and whacked them around the park. He smashed 123 off just 83 balls, only the fourth Australian opener to score a century in a successful Ashes run chase. The knock left former India head coach Ravi Shastri impressed. From World Test Championship 2023 final to ODI World Cup 2023 final, Head's centuries tormented India. This time, Shastri watched in awe as Head left England pacers and captain Ben Stokes scratching their heads.
“Travis Head… two years ago you plunged my country into silence. And today, you have done it again, in the best format of the game, in blistering fashion, with one of the great innings. Take a bow. England… that was special,” Shastri wrote in a post on X (formerly known as Twitter).
How Head planned to attack England
While Australian team was worried about who would open in Khawaja's absence, Head put his hand up and walked out to open alongside Jake Weatherald. He also had plans to thwart England’s short ball plot against him.
"I was pretty keen to do it," Head told Channel 7. "Just felt like the moment was right. I felt like if I could get away, obviously the plans that they've had over the years with me, with short-pitch bowling where they've come to me, I thought that if I could get away with a new ball, [that could] probably take a little bit of sting out of it. [It] could help [Weatherald] at the other end…I feel like when we stack Marnus and Smudge at three and four, it just feels right. So nice that I could move up.
"Felt like I got off to a great start. Weathers played beautifully. And once we sort of got 50, 60, I thought that's a great blueprint, a great start. You see the numbers start ticking down, and you think, you've got two world-class batters behind you, hopefully make their job a bit easier."
As there is plenty of time for the pink-ball Test, Australian captain Steve Smith is not looking to decide on the opening combination.