Appetite for destruction: Travis Head vows to attack India

England’s frantic scoring in Pakistan has inspired Travis Head to abandon his former conservatism on spinning pitches and go to India with an appetite for destruction.

In three previous series in Asia, against Pakistan in 2018 and 2022 and also Sri Lanka last year, Head has often looked like a walking wicket, unwilling or unable to dictate terms to opposition slow bowlers.

Travis Head on the attack against South Africa in Melbourne.Credit:Getty Images

By contrast, his contributions in each of the past two home summers have been characterised by unbridled attack regardless of the conditions, whether helpful for batting or spiteful for seamers.

Those performances give Head a chance of snatching the Allan Border Medal from Usman Khawaja or Steve Smith on Monday night.

Head is likely to have first crack at a middle order berth on Australia’s tour of India in February, particularly amid conjecture about Cameron Green’s return to fitness and Head’s usefulness as a part-time spin bowler.

Reflecting on past series in Asia that returned him 213 runs from 11 innings at 21.30 and a tardy strike rate of 47.65, Head admitted that watching England’s daredevil batting in Rawalpindi and elsewhere had imbued him with a commitment to greater aggression.

Travis Head struggled in Sri Lanka last year.Credit:Getty

“Watching the way England played in Pakistan, I’ve probably looked back and wasn’t as positive as I’d like to be against spin in those series,” Head told The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald ahead of the team’s departure for India this week.

“I feel like the way I played throughout this series against spin – I know it’s completely different being in Australia – but the more positive I am, the better I am with my feet and the better I am in defence.

“We’ve seen that with fast bowling this summer. When I hunt the ball, my front foot defence is probably the best it’s been and I think I’ve got to go over there with a positive mindset, not a defensive one. I think I may have been a bit on the defensive side in Pakistan and Sri Lanka, which you’ve always got a ball on your name over there.

“But get over there, we’ve got a long time to get settled over there, and get the lay of the land and understand what my role might be. It could be low-scoring, it could be high-scoring, you might need to get big scores, or a 40, 50, 60 might win you a Test match.”

Head explained that the combination of a more seasoned group, as captured in the recently released Amazon documentary, and clear and simple instructions from captain Pat Cummins and head coach Andrew McDonald, gave him confidence to play freely.

“Everything progresses when you get a group that’s been together for the amount that we have,” Head said. “Things change and evolve and the dynamics evolve and the environment evolves. It’s definitely become more relaxed because guys are more comfortable with each other and set in their positions and roles.

“That happened in [the SCG] Test as well, it was go out and just bat. I sensed an opportunity with bad light and rain and who knows what could happen the next day, and runs are pretty valuable now.

“They went to a bouncer plan so I thought ‘there’s a real opportunity to score some runs here, rather than being a sitting duck and potentially get out’. I tried to seize that opportunity, and came off and said ‘this is what I was thinking’ to the guys, and ‘Ron’ [McDonald] and ‘Cummo’ were like ‘sweet, no worries, happy with that’. But I think that helped us to give it a shake later.”

These crisp thoughts contrast with the mess of different ideas rattling around Head’s brain in the UAE in 2018, where he made his Test debut. Reflecting on that period, Head admitted it took him until 2021 to feel confident his method was robust enough for Tests.

“I think I’ve done the work,” he said. “There was definitely a period where I needed to get better at certain things and I tinkered and worked on them and adjusted to certain things. I’m at a really sound place now for a couple of years technically.

“When you back your technique and you’re happy with it and you think it can withstand international cricket and international standard bowling, you become more relaxed. Then you can go out and express yourself and play the way you want to play.”

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