Follow UsTwice in two innings, Australia’s designated opener, Usman Khawaja, did not walk out in the middle alongside opener Jake Weatherald in the ongoing Perth Test against England. But the bigger surprise was who walked alongside Weatherald in the run chase – Travis Head.
Why so? Was it a tactical move from Australia to utilise the hard new ball?
For the second innings in a row, Australia were forced into fielding a different opening partner for Weatherland because of Khawaja's injury. During the frenetic second day’s action in Perth, Khawaja hurt his back while fielding in the slips, for which he spent quite a considerable amount of time away from the field.
Australia didn’t have a choice but to throw out another middle-order batter as an opener. But why Head? Australian skipper Pat Cummins, who isn’t part of the Perth Test, revealed that Head wanted to have a crack at the English bowling unit early on in the innings.
"Unfortunately, Uzzie's back had a flare-up when he jumped and went for a catch in the slips, so he wasn't able to open," Cummins said during his commentary stint in Perth.
"We were weighing our options and Trav [Travis Head] was keen on giving it a good crack. It's a role he does in white-ball cricket as well, and he's done it in Tests in the past as well."
While it is a completely new pair at the international level, it isn’t the first time that Head has opened an innings alongside Weatherald. During his time at Adelaide Strikers in the Big Bash League (BBL), the duo played 14 innings together, amassing 381 runs, including two hundred-run partnerships, averaging 27.21. Not just that, in his limited time as an opener in Tests, Head also averages close to 50.00, which shows his consistency and attacking prowess at the top of the order.
"Hopefully, Uzzie will be able to do a job for us in the middle-order," Cummins added.
It means Khawaja will be slotted in at No.5, a role that he’s done in the past, where he’s scored 238 runs – including a 137 and 101*.
Australia will be hopeful of completing a comeback after their top four endured a rough start in the first innings, where they were reduced to 30/3. They need 205 runs to go 1-0 up in the series.