Australia had shown a lot of faith in Travis Head by naming him in the World Cup squad despite his broken hand that he sustained a little over six weeks ago against South Africa.
After repaying that faith with a blistering hundred against New Zealand on Saturday, the opener said it felt nice to be part of the squad despite being at home in Australia.
“Definitely at home it was nice to be kept in the squad. I understood a lot of things had to go right, personally and with the team. So, I didn’t really feel the pressure today. I just wanted to come out and play and contribute,” he said.
Other than reducing itself to a 14-member squad as Head could link up with the team only later in the tournament, Australia was also ready to sacrifice an all-round option and move Steve Smith to the No. 4 spot to accommodate the left-hander’s return to the eleven.
It was Head’s eagerness to grab the opener’s spot, which he said he had been eyeing for two years, that ensured all the risks the management took paid off.
“Obviously, with [Aaron] Finch playing for such a long period and their [with David Warner] partnership being so good and the limited chance I had, I was able to take and sort of waited a couple of years for that spot to open up,” he said.
Head returned to the ODI side in March 2022 after almost four years and struck a 107-ball 101 against Pakistan in his first game. Only after Finch retired in September last year, did Head and David Warner come together to form a lethal opening pair.
On Saturday, the duo added 175 in 19 overs for the first wicket and Head said that going hard in the first PowerPlay was a strategy that helped. We understand that it’s not going to be like that every day, but if we can be as positive as that, I think it gets us both in better positions.”
