(Clarifies scoring in paragraph 8)
(Reuters) – Travis Head has patiently awaited his opportunity to open for Australia, and now that chance has finally arrived, he is determined to make the most of it. The batsman expressed his enthusiasm after Australia’s five-run victory over New Zealand at Dharamsala on Saturday. Head, who made his One Day International (ODI) debut in 2016 but started opening only six years later, played a pivotal role in the highest-scoring match in World Cup history. He scored 109 runs off 67 balls in his first match back since recovering from a finger fracture in September. His opening partnership of 175 runs with David Warner (81) was a standout performance in Australia’s total score of 388 runs.
“I think that’s been a spot that I guess waited for, obviously, with (former captain Aaron Finch) playing for such a long period and their partnership being so good,” Travis told reporters after winning the Player-of-the-Match award. Finch and Warner were a longstanding opening duo for Australia in limited-over cricket and played a significant role in the team’s 2015 World Cup victory.
Head made a comeback to ODI cricket in February 2022 after a three-year absence, scoring a century as an opener against Pakistan. Later that year, he replaced Finch as the opener when Finch retired from international cricket. “The limited chance I had I was able to take and sort of waited a couple of years for that spot to open up,” Head said. “So, that’s never guaranteed, and I’ve got to perform, and I’m lucky enough to be able to put a string of a few performances together that hopefully make that a spot where Dave and I have obviously got a great partnership.”
Marsh, who replaced the injured Head as an opener, has also performed well in Australia’s first four World Cup matches, scoring a century and a fifty.
After losing to India and South Africa, Australia has managed to secure four consecutive victories, bringing them to fourth place in the table with eight points. They are now preparing to face defending champions England in Ahmedabad on Nov. 4.
(This story has been refiled to clarify the scoring in paragraph 8)
(Reporting by Chiranjit Ojha in Bengaluru. Editing by Gerry Doyle)
