Travis Head adds another feather in his record-breaking purple catch

With every passing game, Travis Head is solidifying the internet claims that he is the modern-day Adam Gilchrist. During the 2023 ODI World Cup, the legendary left-hander himself mentioned that Head reminds him of the role he used to play in the Australian team of the 2000s. Head vindicated him with a swashbuckling ton in the final that orchestrated one of Australia’s biggest World Cup victories. 

A lot of water has flown under the bridge since then. Head has only grown leaps and bounds as an invincible power-hitter. He has been the protagonist in the highest powerplay team score in the IPL, the highest powerplay team score in T20Is and the highest powerplay team score in T20Is in England. 

On Thursday (September 19), he smashed a few more records at the face of England. Head hammered an unbeaten 154, cruising Australia to a 1-0 lead in the five-match series. Chasing 316, Australia won by seven wickets and six overs to spare. Head recorded the highest total by an Australian batter against England in England. 

The knock was a 300-plus run-chase prototype. Batting at a strike rate of around 100 for the first 70 balls of his innings, Head kept Australia on par with the asking rate for most part of the innings. He brought his hundred in 92 balls and then went on a boundary-hunt scoring his last 54 runs from 37 deliveries. He pummelled 20 fours and five sixes, bringing 130 runs in boundaries — a boundary percentage of 84.4%.

England had an inexperienced pace attack with the likes of Jofra Archer, Brydon Carse and Matthew Potts (less than 50 ODIs combined) as their only seam-up options. Head took down this weaker suite, hammering pace at a strike rate of nearly 136. 

The pacers were helpless in front of the left-hander. Be it in line with the stumps (strike rate 100), in the channel outside (strike rate 116.7) or wide outside the stumps (strike rate 211.1), Head churned them for boundaries of all reasons. 

However, England may look back at their tactic of not bowling short enough to Head. In ODIs since 2022, the South Australian averages 30.6 against the back-of-a-length deliveries, his lowest among all lengths against pace. England bowled only back-of-a-length delivery to Head in the whole innings, that too when he was batting at 115. 

Head also emphasized the significance of the opener scoring big once set in such high-scoring matches. England had Ben Duckett perfectly placed to bat big before he chipped one back to Marnus Labuschagne for 95 from 91 deliveries. England were well placed to score above 350 when Duckett was batting, even considering the fact that they were a bowler short with Ben Dwarshuis’ injury. But once Duckett was out, the innings crashed to 315 all out.

The fact that Australia razed it down with six overs remaining showcased that England fell at least 50 runs short. Labuschagne and Head picked 5/73 in 10.4 overs between them with the ball in England’s free fall. With the bat, they forged an unbeaten 148-run stand off 107 deliveries. Labuschagned picked his career best bowling figures of 3/39 and scored a crafty 77 off 61 deliveries.

Head closed out England’s innings with back-to-back wickets in the final over. He found a record here too – becoming only the second Australian to score 150-plus and pick two wickets in the same ODI and the eighth player overall. 

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