"Headingley does weird things" - Travis Head not ruling out Australia's win on day 4 of 3rd Ashes Test
Australian middle-order batter Travis Head said that they are optimistic about turning the tables on England on Day 4 of the third Ashes Test at Headingley. The left-handed batter stated that Headingley has done strange things over the years and wouldn't be surprised to see Australia win.
England finished Day 3 with 27-0 in 5 overs, needing 224 runs to win. Australia, on the other hand, will need to take all 10 wickets on what is likely to be a sunny Day 4 to retain the Ashes, having already won at Edgbaston and Lord's.
Speaking after the day's play, the southpaw, whose rollicking 77 gave Australia a competitive score, hopes England going after their bowlers creates an opportunity on Day 4.
As quoted by the Sydney Morning Herald, the South Australian claimed:
"There’s enough there. We know they’re going to come hard and try and push us off our lengths, and hopefully that creates opportunity. Headingley does weird things. You can look up and clouds can come in, and the ball can start swinging, or if it’s a sunny day it can be really nice to bat."
The South Australian found himself under pressure as Australia lost Mitchell Marsh and Alex Carey without troubling the scores much. However, Head farmed strike most of the time while batting with the tail to add invaluable runs. He holed out to Ben Duckett at deep mid-wicket trying to hit another big six.
"There’s no doubt it’s a challenging thing" - Travis Head
Speaking of England's short-ball barrage, Travis Head stated that he saw it coming and suggested that he has done well to combat them. The 29-year-old added:
"There’s no doubt it’s a challenging thing. It’s foreign. There’s not many periods we’ve seen in Test cricket where it has just been 100 per cent short balls. I wasn’t surprised by the plan, I was prepared for the plan, I thought it was going to come. Maybe not to the extent that it did. I felt like I’ve had moments throughout the series where I’ve been able to get them out of that plan.”
The tourists will be keen for early wickets on Day 4 to stop England from scoring the required runs. Ben Duckett's bat did find the edge a couple of times, but it did not carry to a fielder.
Incidentally, the hosts chased 296 last year and 359 in the 2019 Ashes series at the same venue.