Do the selectors owe Travis Head an apology or does he owe them a thanks?
Either manner there appears little doubt one of many secret elements within the emergence of Head as a excessive class Test batsman was the scorching spur of being dropped from the nationwide contract record two years in the past.
That was the yr wherein Australia experimented with a brand new principle of naming simply 17 as a substitute of 20 gamers.
Head’s revival is proof it’s a tactic they need to use extra usually.
Rather than toss out just a few comfortable contracts they determined to toss just a few burrs on saddles by asking fringe gamers to earn their offers on the run.
Head was initially shattered. He was on a tenting journey within the Flinders Range 450km north of Adelaide when the record was introduced.
The selectors had urgently tried to contact him, initially with out success, in order that they delayed the naming of the record for a day.
The fact was the selectors had all the time had loads of affection for Head. They appreciated his naturally attacking bent however they felt he was drifting and never bettering and was too free outdoors off-stump. They needed to do one thing to focus his ideas and his sport.
Since being dropped from the record Head has rebounded with among the finest type of his profession on residence shores.
He has sailed alongside at a blistering strike fee in Test sequence in opposition to England (357 at 59) the West Indies (312 at 156) and South Africa (213 at 53), scoring at slightly below a run a ball.
The comfortable spots have been two sequence in Pakistan (68 at 22) and Sri Lanka (23 at seven) the place his weaknesses in opposition to spin have been uncovered and it’s true that’s the problem which should be addressed.
The 4 Test tour of India will likely be a captivating problem for Head however the very presence of Usman Khawaja within the aspect is a reminder of how gamers can enhance in opposition to spin.
Early in his profession Khawaja was considered a poor participant of spin and there was a time when England tweaker Graeme Swann, who dismissed Khawaja 5 instances, threatened to price him his profession.
But he labored feverishly within the nets to enhance himself and is now considered one of Australia’s higher gamers of spin.
South African spinner Keshav Maharaj famous in his day one press convention that the Khawaja he confronted on the SCG was a distinct participant from the one he confronted in 2018.
“He trusts his defence rather well,’’ Maharaj stated. “He is aware of his scoring alternatives. He has obtained actually good arms. He is a distinct participant to what he was 4 years in the past.’’
There have been instances when Australia might have proven extra religion in Khawaja and brought him on extra excursions however Australia has learnt from that and can attempt to let Head do his enhancements on the run.
The outcomes will outline his profession.
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Originally printed as third Test Australia v South Africa: Follow all of the day 4 motion from the SCG
