“Hopefully I don't get dropped too much in the future” - Travis Head after superb ton on Day of 1 WTC final
Australian batter Travis Head cheekily commented after scoring a ton on Day 1 of the World Test Championship (WTC) final that he will hopefully not get dropped too much in the future.
The Aussies dominated the opening day of the WTC 2023 final against India on Wednesday, scoring 327/3 in 85 over at The Oval after being asked to bat first.
Head scored a scintillating ton, remaining unbeaten on 146* off 156 balls. He added an unbroken 251 runs for the fourth wicket with former captain Steve Smith (95* off 227 balls).
With his superb innings, the left-handed batter seems to have cemented his place in the Test XI for now. However, speaking at the end of Day 1 in the WTC final, Head said that he was not thinking along those lines.
"That's [selection] all out of my control. All I can do is try and be as consistent as I can be on the field and off the field and enjoy myself. It's a bloody enjoyable team to play under and play with. Yes I would love to play every single Test match, but that's not always going to be the case," Head said.
"I think that gives you good perspective to moments like this and the lead up and the prep to be as relaxed as you can. Hopefully I don't get dropped too much in the future but it's going to inevitably happen, so it doesn't bother me," he added.
Earlier in the year, Head was dropped for the first Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against India in Nagpur despite being in impressive form.
“It felt like he wasn't going to go anywhere” - Head hails Smith
Batting first after losing the toss, Australia were in a spot of bother at 76/3. However, contrasting knocks from Head and Smith lifted them as the batting side ended Day 1 of the WTC final in a dominating position.
Praising Smith, Head said that having the seasoned batter at the other end is of great help since he can slip under the radar.
The 29-year-old elaborated:
"I've always said that I do really enjoy batting with Steve because of how much attention he receives. I’ve always felt like and I've always said going out to bat with him it feels like you're in the shadow of that and you can sort of sneak under the radar and go about your business because he's drawn so much attention and it felt like that again today, it felt like he wasn't going to go anywhere.
“He was at the other end and sort of got in that rhythm and just went about business. A lot of balls that he may play or play out are a lot different to me so I think we complement each other completely differently but in the partnership it works really nicely."
Australia lost Usman Khawaja for a duck on Day 1 of the WTC final, while David Warner (43) and Marnus Labuschagne (26) failed to convert starts. But Head and Smith batted superbly to put their team in command.