While Australia are usually known to go into big Test series with settled squads and clear plans, they have a major hole to fill before India come knocking for the five-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy later this year. Australia are yet to identify a good candidate to be Usman Khawaja’s opening partner with David Warner retiring from international cricket.
With no strong candidates emerging from the domestic circuit Down Under, Steve Smith and Travis Head seem to have emerged as the leading contenders for the role. Smith remains the most likely batter to do so, despite his underwhelming returns in the four matches in which he already played as opener for Australia. Head, on the other hand, is a regular for the team in Test cricket as a No.5 batter and an opener in white-ball cricket.
Head has especially had the wood on India across formats in recent years. He was among Australia’s best batters in the last Border-Gavaskar Trophy in India, overcoming his past troubles against spin bowling and smashing 235 runs in three matches at an average of 47.00. Notably, Head scored a century in the 2023 World Cup final in which Australia beat India by six wickets.
However, former captain Ian Chappell has warned that opening the Australian batting with Head against India later this year may not be such a good idea after all. “Head opening in Test cricket is based on his unbridled success facing the new ball in both 50-over and T20 cricket. There’s no doubt Head, with his ultra-aggressive style, is the ideal player to open in the two short forms of the game. However, Test cricket is an entirely different proposition,” Chappell wrote in his column on ESPNCricinfo.
‘Either an extremely desperate ploy or an extraordinarily adventurous move’
Chappell said that such a move may either reflect how desperate the Australians are or how adventurous, depending on how Head’s ultra-attacking approach pans out. He noted that opening in Test cricket is far more difficult than what is the case in the shorter formats. “The fielding side employing extra catching fielders and being able to unleash a preferred bowler for longer periods makes opening much tougher in Test cricket,” he said.
Moreover, opening in a Test match in Australia against India means facing a fresh Jasprit Bumrah and Co. with a new ball in their hands. “Any move to open with Head that is designed to unsettle Jasprit Bumrah is asking a lot of the batter. Bumrah, and to a lesser extent Mohammad Siraj, are unlikely to be battered into altering their attacking mentality,” said Chappell.
The 81-year-old, who played 75 Tests and scored 5345 runs at an average of 42.42 between 1964 and 1980, also said that Head’s troubles with facing good offspin could creep back up in the new position. “The wily R Ashwin is unlikely to be panicked by an opponent’s ultra-aggressive approach. The argument could be mounted that opening with Head means he’d be more settled facing Ashwin with some runs on the board. On the other hand, a smart opposing captain can utilise the offspinner with a newish ball.
“Amongst any argument to use Head as a Test match opener, there’s a compelling counterpoint,” said Chappell.
