Travis Head’s Christmas party buries England’s Ashes tour

2 hours ago 1

Adelaide: If this match is henceforth to be known as the Christmas Test, then Friday afternoon became Travis Head’s Christmas party at an enraptured Adelaide Oval.

The day’s play became both a farewell bash for England’s Ashes hopes and a funeral for “Bazball”, with Ben Stokes unable to conjure a miracle with either bat or ball.

Head started the touring team’s rot with a Perth hundred that “knocked the wind out of us” in Stokes’ words; he was duly in place to effectively end the contest with another century. A lead of 356 with six wickets in hand can only grow to world-record dimensions.

By stumps, Head’s innings had swelled to 142 from 196 balls with the promise of more to come on day four. Alongside him was Alex Carey (52 not out), who has the chance to make a hundred in each innings. Whatever happens, it’s hard to see Pat Cummins declaring early.

Upon getting to three figures, Head dropped his bat, helmet and gloves and kneeled to theatrically kiss the oval’s drop-in pitch. As was occasionally said of Brian Lara after a big innings, Head would be happy to roll this pitch up and take it everywhere.

He was watched proudly by his wife, Jess, who sat in the red members’ seats a few metres away from the SACA directors who can comfortably now lay claim to possession of the finest and best-loved cricket ground on the planet. With 53,696 spectators present on day three, another similar roll-up on Saturday will break all records for a Test match here.

Head’s innings ensured there would be no repeat of the 2023 Leeds Test, when leading on the first innings and comfortably placed in the third, Australia coughed up a winning position. As Cummins said before this game, “If you do get those opportunities... you just can’t let them go. You can’t say, ‘We’ll get them next Test’, you’ve got to take those moments.”

Australia required the second new ball to get past Stokes and Jofra Archer. The former was clean bowled by a beauty from Mitchell Starc, reacting with anger not only at losing his wicket, but also to opening up his stumps to a bowler now well-versed in the art of wobble seam.

There was clearly some help still available to fast bowlers, and the pitch is taking increasing amounts of spin, but Australia constructed a sound-enough innings to put Stokes swiftly on the defensive.

Though Jake Weatherald was wrongly given lbw to Brydon Carse and bashfully declined a review, Marnus Labuschagne and Head absorbed the new-ball period so that when Usman Khawaja came to the middle he could quickly get into stride.

Head in full flight at the picturesque Adelaide Oval.

His 40 from 51 balls helped Head put space between the teams, quickly enough that when Will Jacks found Khawaja’s edge on the cut and then Josh Tongue coaxed an edge from the out-of-sorts Cam Green, Australia did not need to panic.

There will be room for some consideration of Green’s role in the team. It may be time for him to slip back to number six or seven in the order, given that Green now averages 21.9 from his past 15 Test innings, with just one 50.

Head stayed one step ahead of England throughout. When Stokes stacked the covers, Head pinned back the ears and launched Tongue for a drive to the rope that would have taken any fielder with it.

When Carse dropped short, Head swivel-hooked a six over long leg with the confidence of a player who knows those shots will carry the fence here.

Overall, this was not an avalanche of boundaries like Perth. Instead, Head found gaps, hustled twos and walked ones, taking full advantage of the modest field settings chosen by a tired, and possibly injured, Stokes, who did not bowl.

Fittingly, the sealing partnership was built between Head and Carey, fellow South Australians and best friends. Carey, having had his moment in the sun on day one, played perfectly the role of foil to Head’s leading man. It was only Australia’s second century stand of the series, but it will be enough.

As he approached three figures, Head was relaxed enough to walk – not jog – his singles, with a self-assurance that endeared him still more to the Adelaide faithful. They rode all nine balls he was paused on 99, including one cut shot that just eluded a sprawling Harry Brook in the gully. The suspense was ended with a charge down the track and a lofted straight drive that brooked no argument: cue the turf kiss.

Best mates Head and Alex Carey leave the Adelaide Oval turf on day three, arm in arm.

“There’s nothing like a hometown hero in any sport, when the local boy comes good,” Mark Waugh told Fox Cricket. “The way he plays the game is so entertaining as well. You don’t want to miss anything that he does when he’s out in the middle.

“He is a bit like a Merv Hughes was in Melbourne or a David Hookes in South Australia. Travis has captured the imagination just with the way he plays. And a lot of people can sort of relate to it.

“I mean, he’s not your pristine athlete, is he? He’s got the big moustache. He’s fit for cricket, but he’s not going to ... be a 200-metre athlete in the Olympics, so I think people relate to him.”

While he lacks the loftier averages of that quartet, few Australian cricketers have played impactful innings quite so often as Head. There is no more valuable cricketer in the world right now.

During the final hour, the gulf between the two sides had become wide enough for the crowd to break out into attempts to start the Mexican wave. This Ashes series has never been the contest England built it up to be. More than anyone else in the Australian batting line-up, it has been Head who made this so.

News, results and expert analysis from the weekend of sport are sent every Monday. Sign up for our Sport newsletter.