Follow UsThe Ashes Down Under is nearly a month away and, despite that, the buzz doesn’t seem to be settling down. On the contrary, it is increasing with each passing day as it is going to be the first test for Bazball in one of the toughest conditions that the side has faced since Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes partnered and rebranded England’s style of Test cricket.
Australian batter Travis Head joins the bandwagon, talking about the kind of pitches he would like for the Ashes.
"I probably enjoy batting on those (fast-paced) sort of wickets. The flatter wickets, with the grind, that more so challenge technique, I think, over longer periods of time [trying] to eke out runs has probably never come as natural to me as being a stroke player and wanting to get on with it,” Head said, showing his preference for the kind of tracks he would expect to be rolled out for the marquee Test series.
“And the slower, flat wickets probably don't tend to that. But fast-paced pitches that nip, you can maybe get away with a few things,” added the South Australian.
Head, who has scored 3300 runs in 52 Tests during the World Test Championship (WTC) period, has a stellar record at home, amassing 3056 runs at an average of 51.52.
Although run scoring over the last five years or so has become tough in Australia and easier in England, Head feels that his ability to play shots give him more advantage on moving tracks rather than flat wickets.
“If they present opportunities to score, you score. So when they're greener, they pitch up a little bit more and a bit fuller, and the style that I play, if they miss a little bit, I'm able to hopefully score and get busy,” said Head.
"It's a run-based game. You see some of the great players, like Steve Smith, Joe Root, you blink and they're on 30 or 40. And that's something that I've always appreciated, and definitely [on] these wickets, you know that you potentially have got one with your name on it. You can still play well. You can still get runs. Sometimes you've got to go about it in different ways. But ultimately, it's a game where you go try and score as many as you can,” added the 31-year-old.
The Ashes will get underway with the first Test at the Optus Stadium in Perth, beginning on November 21.