Aussie selectors' decision to name Head in the World Cup squad wasn't something he expected 23 days out
'Thought I was done': Head grateful for World Cup faith
When Travis Head's left hand was first fractured by a searing Gerald Coetzee delivery just over three weeks out from Australia's first World Cup match against India, the opener thought his tournament hopes had gone up in flames as well.
Having toiled for years to lock down a spot in Australia's one-day top order – a chance that slipped away from him four years earlier amid a run of low scores – Head had not only earned a place in his first World Cup squad but was viewed as an essential part of it.
And selectors thought so too, opting to keep him around despite being at home in Adelaide in a splint for the first two matches of their campaign.
But as he juggled quality family time with wife Jess and one-year-old daughter Milla while supporting from the couch – even witnessing his daughter's first steps during his impromptu break – Head revealed not even he could make it through the night as his teammates sunk to two heavy defeats in their opening games.
"It's a position I haven't been in before, being injured and watching," he told reporters after arriving at the team hotel in Delhi.
"Normally not selected and watching is a bit different than being selected and watching. You're definitely invested, and you have nerves and you're watching with excitement.
"But I think it was best to stay pretty neutral and pretty fresh and not trying to get too heavily and emotionally invested.
"I watched bits and pieces … the first half of the game then went to sleep, with a little one at home prioritising a little bit of home time.
"I'm definitely not here thinking that I'm going to change too much. I think that gives you a good headspace knowing that I was potentially coming back."
Head rejoined Australia's squad on Saturday in Delhi where he faced sidearm throw downs from coaches in a nets and the 29-year-old says a return against the Netherlands in three days' time is not out of the question.
"Each session is getting better, but again, I've got to be mindful of the fact that it was five weeks (since the fracture) a couple of days ago," he said.
"I got told that six-week mark and everything seems to be going well. But it's how I wake up this morning, it's how I can potentially back up tomorrow and train and there's still a few things I need to tick off.
"But I'm optimistic, if it continues on at this rate, who knows. I'll keep doing the right things day-by-day to hopefully give myself the best chance."
Having been through the "mixed emotions" thinking his World Cup dream was over to watching on as Australia slipped to the bottom of the standings after two matches, Head says it began to feel real again when he came out of his splint at four weeks and started batting again.
Since winning back his place at the top of the order 18 months ago, Head has made himself indispensable part of Australia's 50-over side, with men's national selection chair George Bailey guaranteeing he would slot straight back in as opener when fit despite stand-in Mitch Marsh and David Warner's twin tons in their previous match on Friday.
Head has been the nation's highest averaging (60.84) and quickest striking (119.84) ODI batter to have scored more than 200 runs since he came back into the side in Pakistan in March last year, with only David Warner (1170) and Marnus Labuschagne (916) hitting more runs than his 791 in that time.
And after Australia rebooted their campaign with wins over Sri Lanka and Pakistan, Head has arrived in India eager to pay back the faith selectors had to keep him in.
"It's not something that I expected at the time," Head said of that decision. "Obviously there was a range of emotions through those three or four days (after the injury) to think that I missed a chance again to be involved (in a World Cup).
"When I left and they put it on the table, there were a lot of things that needed to go really well and I'm very fortunate that the group stayed healthy because that was another scenario that might not have happened.
"So very happy the boys are all fit and going well which has led them to keep(ing) me around.
"(It) was nice to have the confidence to hold me, a lot had to go right, which it has so far and hopefully over the next week it's the same story.
"Hopefully day-by-day it's getting better, and I can contribute at the end and pay a bit of faith back that they've kept me in."
Head faces the sternest test of his recovery at training on Monday where he plans to face Australia's bowlers in the nets, which will likely provide the most accurate picture of whether his hand can handle the intensity of a World Cup come Wednesday.
"I could bat for a whole session against quicks and spin and feel a million bucks, I could hit the first ball and not feel great," he said.
"I've got confidence in the medical staff to be told that the bones are healed.
"There's stiffness and some of the pain. You can deal with it as long as I'm not doing any damage to it and I've got the confidence to know that I'm not doing damage to it, so a little bit of pain is OK."
Australia's 2023 ODI World Cup fixtures
October 8: Lost to India by six wickets
October 12: Lost to South Africa by 134 runs
October 16: Defeated Sri Lanka by five wickets
October 20: Defeated Pakistan by 62 runs
October 25: v Netherlands, Delhi (D/N), 7.30pm AEDT
October 28: v New Zealand, Dharamsala, 4pm AEDT
November 4: v England, Ahmedabad (D/N), 7.30pm AEDT
November 7: v Afghanistan, Mumbai (D/N), 7.30pm AEDT
November 11: v Bangladesh, Pune, 4pm AEDT
November 15: First semi-final, Mumbai (D/N), 7.30pm AEDT
November 16: Second semi-final, Kolkata (D/N), 7.30pm AEDT
November 19: Final, Ahmedabad (D/N), 7.30pm AEDT
Australia squad: Pat Cummins (c), Sean Abbott, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, David Warner, Adam Zampa
2023 World Cup standings
| Team | M | W | L | T | N/R | NRR | Ded. | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1
IND
|
9 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.57 | 0 | 18 |
|
2
SA
|
9 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1.261 | 0 | 14 |
|
3
AUS
|
9 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.841 | 0 | 14 |
|
4
NZ
|
9 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0.743 | 0 | 10 |
|
5
PAK
|
9 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 0 | -0.199 | 0 | 8 |
|
6
AFG
|
9 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 0 | -0.336 | 0 | 8 |
|
7
ENG
|
9 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 0 | -0.572 | 0 | 6 |
|
8
BAN
|
9 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 0 | -1.087 | 0 | 4 |
|
9
SL
|
9 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 0 | -1.419 | 0 | 4 |
|
10
NED
|
9 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 0 | -1.825 | 0 | 4 |
M: Matches played
W: Wins
L: Losses
T: Ties
N/R: No results
NRR: Net Run Rate
Ded.: Deductions
PTS: Total points