"I think he’s a very underrated bowler" - Mitchell Marsh on Travis Head's spells in England ODIs
Australia's stand-in ODI skipper Mitchell Marsh praised Travis Head's bowling ability following his exploits in the recent 3-2 series win over England. The part-time off-spinner finished with six wickets from four matches with an economy rate of 5.63, including match-winning figures of 4-28 in the series finale in Bristol.
Australia turned to spin to choke England in the middle and the death overs, which gave part-timers like Head, Matt Short, and Marnus Labuschagne proper spells to work their craft. In the fifth ODI, Australia used 32.2 overs of spin, out of which Head bowled 6.2 overs.
He dismissed the centurion, Ben Duckett, and also ran through the lower order to significantly dent the hosts' chances of posting a commanding total. England were primed to score over 350 at one stage, but the constant loss of wickets in the latter half of the innings restricted them to 309. The Aussies won the game by 49 runs via the DLS method.
“I think he’s a very underrated bowler and every time he bowls he seems to change the game in a way. He’s a great character, we always love his celebrations, so like I said earlier, it’s great to have as many options as you can, and the conditions change, it started spinning a bit later on in their innings, so to have options like him, we are lucky," Marsh said after Australia won the final match of the series.
Head has shown his bowling abilities on several occasions, including a crucial spell of 2-21 in the 2023 ODI World Cup semi-final against South Africa.
Head was adjudged as Player of the Match and the Player of the Series for his all-round performance against England. He also scored 248 runs in four outings at a strike rate of 120.97 and an average of 82.66.
"I am moving well, doing things well and enjoying this environment" - Travis Head
Travis Head cannot seem to do any wrong at this moment given how some of his last campaigns have gone. He has made a serious case to be considered the best all-format batter.
The only blip in recent times was his lackluster home season earlier this year, but apart from that, Head has been fluent in every single series and franchise tournament that he has been a part of.
"Would have liked to go (and play some better knocks) in a couple of games, but it was a good opportunity. Moving really well, would like to add one good score. Just relaxed. I am moving well, doing things well and enjoying this environment. I think we have played well forever, especially in this format. We need to make sure we get up and running," Head said during the post-match presentation.
Australia will begin their home season in November, hosting Pakistan for a white-ball series. It will be followed by the highly anticipated Border-Gavaskar Trophy against India.