Australian opener Travis Head has hit back at criticism of the current Test side from former players. He accused some of them of effectively “putting the bullet through” players with their commentary. Head spoke about the increasingly hostile discourse around the Australian Test team during a media conference ahead of the first Test between South Africa and Australia.
Although Head did not name any of the former players directly, his comments came at an interesting juncture amid the mounting scrutiny over Australia’s selection calls. The inclusion of Nic Maddinson in the Test side after almost a decade has particularly drawn criticism from a section of former Australian internationals. “I think it’s unfairly judged a fair bit from a group of past players, pretty much that put the bullet through a lot of players, which I think is unfair,” Head said. “But that’s what they’re paid to do. Some of them need a job, so they go after us, and that’s totally fine.”
Matthew Hayden’s criticism of Australian selectors
The criticism intensified after former Australian opener Matthew Hayden questioned Maddinson’s inclusion. Hayden called the selection the “greatest pile of mediocrity that we’ve seen in a generation of cricket” and stated that the Australian selectors were showing a lack of respect towards first-class cricket. Maddinson, now 34, was called up as cover after Josh Inglis and Cameron Green suffered injuries. The left-handed batter averages 37.11 in first-class cricket, a figure Hayden used while arguing that players should have stronger domestic numbers before being considered for Test cricket.
Head, though, threw his full support behind the selectors. He also argued that Test cricket often requires players with a firm understanding of their game. “We need mature guys that know what they need to be doing,” he said. “And I think that revolves back to why we’ve been so good over a period of time, and why Australian cricket was so good back then in that era, because you’d bring in the Mike Husseys of the world, who are 30, who are tried and tested and know what they need to do.”
Head dismisses debate over his opening role
Travis Head enjoyed considerable success for Australia batting at number five before being tasked with opening the innings in the longest format. Recently, Australian legend Allan Border suggested that opening against the South African attack in the upcoming series could present the sternest examination of Head’s career so far. Border also suggested that the aggressive left-handed batter could be moved back down the order to number five, where he has enjoyed much of his success for Australia in Test cricket.
Head, however, dismissed the discussion around his opening slot. He pointed to his numbers, since moving to the top of the order, to make his case. “I have laughed at a fair bit of it because if a traditional opening batter had pushed out the same sort of numbers in his first 20 innings, I think he’d be pretty safe and not talked about in the way that it has been talked about. It’s a lot of headline stuff,” Head said.
The left-hander also made it clear that the current group of Australian players are mentally equipped to deal with criticism, even when it comes from former greats they grew up respecting. “This group is strong enough to deal with those sorts of things. That’s how it is. It’s unfortunate sometimes to have some of that feedback from a generation of players that we have huge respect for, but that’s the caper,” Head said.
