'Not pretty' Head blooms with skipper's belief

If the historic evolution of number five batters in Australia's men's Test team provide a clue to the future, then Travis Head's breakthrough Ashes campaign might herald an exciting if unpredictable ride.

The three leading runs-scorers for Australia in that key middle-order post – Steve Waugh, Michael Clarke and Allan Border – developed their games in keeping with the tenor of their times before going on to lengthy tenures as Test captains.

Waugh and Border were born of an era when Australia were routinely pummelled by opponents (most ruthlessly the West Indies) and fashioned their games around defiant defence which could switch to counter-attack when and if opportunity presented.

By contrast, Clarke arrived at international level when Australia ruled the cricket world and was afforded the comparative luxury of finding his feet at the elite level behind a top-order of Matthew Hayden, Justin Langer and Ricky Ponting and proved a more attacking weapon as a result.

Head cannot be included in the same conversation as any of the above given the nascent nature of his Test career (23 matches), but his performance in winning the Compton-Miller Medal as player of the 2021-22 Vodafone Ashes confirms he has an opportunity to join those exalted predecessors.

And according to his skipper Pat Cummins, if the free-scoring left-hander wants to tackle the number five job in a way that might cause purists to raise an eyebrow then that's totally fine, based on the evidence Head put forward in the captain's first series at the helm.

"He goes about it a little bit differently to most other batters, which is his biggest strength," Cummins said in the wake of Australia's 146-run win in the fifth Test at Blundstone Arena which sealed a thumping 4-0 Ashes triumph.

"So as a captain, I don't care if he gets out in non-traditional ways, I just want him to go out, be free and play his game."

That vote of confidence played a significant part in Head's successful return to Test cricket having lost his place in the starting XI, and then his Cricket Australia contract, as a result of last summer's home series loss to India.

Those "non-traditional" dismissals have previously polarised views of the 28-year-old's approach to batting since he made his debut for South Australia as a precociously talented teenager in 2013.

His preparedness to play his shots and put pressure on bowlers brought some critiques that Head admits were understandably harsh, none more so than in his maiden home Test campaign against India in 2018-19 when he twice holed out to third man in the same match at Perth.

"I went through a period when I understand dismissals might not have looked the best, and I might get caught at third man or flap at a ball and obviously I don't want to do that," Head said today.

"My default as a batter technically means (when) I nick the ball, I've thrown my hands through it.

"It doesn't look pretty, I understand that, but I also understand no dismissal ever looks pretty.

"Pat's given me the confidence to go out and play.

"He alluded to that (India) game at Optus Stadium and he goes, 'Look, if you take the game on and you get done at third man a couple of times and you're playing the right way', it's no skin off his nose, and he backs me one hundred per cent.

"That probably gave me the confidence to go into this series and be myself and play the situation as I see it."

Head's next challenge, as he happily concedes, is to take that instinctive approach that's netted him more than 1,500 runs in 23 Tests (average 43.14) and apply it to vastly different batting conditions that await in Pakistan and Sri Lanka where Australia's next two Test assignments take place.

Apart from his first two Tests against Pakistan in the UAE in late 2018, the left-hander has played all his Test cricket on familiar pitches in Australia or England where he's played both red and white-ball formats in recent northern summers.

However, the remedial work he undertook to his technique in the aftermath of his axing last season, under the tutelage of former Australia coach now SA high performance boss Tim Nielsen has instilled in Head the belief he will be properly prepared for whatever awaits on the subcontinent later this year.

"I'll look at what the expected conditions maybe look like over the next couple of weeks and know what I have to do mindset-wise to prepare for that," he said.

"I know conditions in Pakistan can be challenging, they've got a lot of fast bowlers whether it's green and seaming around or spin friendly, we'll wait and see.

"Like any tour, and the same in Sri Lanka, I think you look at ways you may be able to counteract and over the next couple of weeks I'll definitely look at the areas I can get better at.

"I know going away, whether it's going to be spin in an away series, or seam or swing, the same method (applies) for me – I'll play strong cricket shots, strong defence and if I'm beaten, I'm beaten.

"And I'll try to be hard to get out and try to look for scoring opportunities."

In addition to losing his place in Australia's Test line-up twice in the three years since debuting amid the turmoil caused by the sandpaper suspensions, Head was also installed as vice-captain alongside Cummins in 2019, only to have the title withdrawn when it was decided a single deputy would suffice.

But given the breeding ground for future leaders the Australia number five batting berth has proved,  it's a not unreasonable assumption Head might one day lead his country with the surety he's shown since taking over the SA captaincy in 2015 at age 21.

Taking on a heavier leadership responsibility within the Test set-up is another ambition he has set himself now he's shored up a place in the first XI, at least for the medium term, although he understands one highly-productive series does not an Australia career make.

"The challenge now I've had this series is to continue to do that and embed myself in this team, try and be a leader in this team, try to be as consistent a person and player as I possibly can and make that step, as I have in Shield cricket, now in Test cricket," he said.

"It's going to be tough, there's definitely going to be times when that's going to be extremely difficult and the pressure's going to be on and it's a harsh spotlight.

"Over a lot of my early Test matches, in the 2019 Ashes or Dubai (against Pakistan) and a few times throughout this summer, I've walked in (to bat) in some tricky situations.

"I've obviously played a different way, but that was the way I felt was best for the team or for the scenario."

Vodafone Men's Ashes

Squads

Australia: Pat Cummins (c), Steve Smith (vc), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitch Marsh, Michael Neser, Jhye Richardson, Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Swepson, David Warner

England: Joe Root (c), James Anderson, Jonathan Bairstow, Dom Bess, Sam Billings, Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Zak Crawley, Haseeb Hameed, Dan Lawrence, Jack Leach, Dawid Malan, Craig Overton, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Ben Stokes, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood

Schedule

First Test: Australia won by nine wickets

Second Test: Australia won by 275 runs

Third Test: Australia won by an innings and 14 runs

Fourth Test: Match drawn

Fifth Test: Australia won by 146 runs