Head World Cup heroics result of long waiting game

When Australia picked Travis Head in the final squad for the World Cup, more than a few eyebrows were raised. There was no way he could be back in the first half of the tournament after fracturing his hand during the ODI series against South Africa just before the World Cup. 

When Australia lost their first two matches and slumped to the bottom of the points table, many wondered if it was the right call to retain Head and not go for a specialist spinner.

It looked like Mitchell Marsh all but cemented his place as David Warner's opening partner after a roaring century against Pakistan in the group stage. But to everyone's surprise, chief selector George Bailey, right after that match, said Head would open straightaway when he was fit and Marsh would bat at three.

It was a massively brave call from Australia given Marsh's unremarkable record at number three. The move also meant stalwart Steven Smith had to drop down to number four, sacrificing his preferred number three position where he averages 52. 

Smith admitted that he was "shocked" but ready to do whatever he was asked by the team.

Fast forward three weeks and it is now clear why Australia captain Pat Cummins, coach Andrew McDonald and Bailey backed the South Australian so much.

He returned to the squad in an important clash against eternal rivals New Zealand and made a dazzling 59-ball century, the fastest by an opener in World Cups. His opening burst, in the end, proved to be the difference in a 771-run thriller in Dharamsala.

But he probably saved his best for the business end. The southpaw became just the fourth player in the history of the World Cups to be adjudged Player of the Match in both the semi-final and final after Mohinder Amarnath, Aravinda de Silva and Shane Warne.

Head's impact was invaluable in these two knockout games. His sudden double strike against the Proteas dented their progress so much that they could score only 212 despite a magnificent hundred from David Miller.

But it was still there to be seen whether Head could succeed by playing his natural game in slow, spin-friendly conditions. Not very long ago, he was heavily criticised for his poor numbers against spin, especially during Australia's subcontinent Test tours.

But he stayed true to his template and didn't spare any bad ball. Head struck at 118.45 in the semi-final and final, way higher than the mean strike-rate of 79.5 in the two matches. 

Head did not get enough chances at the top of the order in the early part of his career after making his debut in 2016. It was largely because of the presence of more established openers in the side. 

Head smashed a hundred against Pakistan in just his second outing as an opener. But he got one more chance before he had to move out of that position. He regained the spot a year later but in between that, Head had to play 11 innings as a non-opener. 

The left-hander hit four half-centuries in nine innings after regaining the spot, only to get dropped for more than three years from the ODI set-up. His comeback innings against Pakistan last year in Lahore pretty much summed up how he would play at the top of the order. His 101 runs came off just 72 balls and he got two wickets as well. A year later, his all-round display directly influenced Australia's title win.

Head is carrying forward the legacy of aggressive Australian openers, something that has been a key to their success in this format. Adam Gilchrist said a few days ago, "He is playing aggressively and in some ways, that was my role". On Sunday, he almost matched Gilchrist's 149 which he made in the 2007 World Cup final. 

The southpaw is already ODI cricket's most aggressive opener, and most notably, he is the only opening batter in the history of the game with 1000+ runs with a strike-rate of 110+ and average of 50+.

After his first century in 2017, Head said he would like to bat as high as possible. Before even becoming a regular opener in ODIs, he had two double hundreds in List A cricket. He has always been an opener but had to wait a really long time to make the spot of his own in the Australia team.

Warner has been a constant and there was the former captain Aaron Finch. Their partnership was instrumental in Australia's 2015 World Cup triumph and the duo kept Head out of the 2019 squad as well.

"I think that's been a spot that I guess waited for, obviously, with [Aaron Finch] playing for such a long period and their partnership being so good," Head said after the New Zealand match.

After Finch's retirement, Head started opening with senior partner Warner and in 17 partnerships, they average 75.17 and the run rate per over has been an astonishing 7.42.

A lot of credit has to be given to the Australian management as well for persisting with Head despite the injury woes. His intent, in the end, became the deciding factor. Travis Head waited for years for the opportunity to open and delivered one of the greatest performances of all-time in the knockout stage of a tournament.