Sri Lanka vs Australia 2016: Travis Head to be flown to Sri Lanka ahead of third Test
Reeling under consecutive losses from hosts Sri Lanka after the first two Tests, the Australian selectors have asked the South Australian batsman Travis Head to join the visitors ahead of the third Test, for the ODI series to follow. He had been initially omitted from the one-day squad.
The Australian coach, Darren Lehmann, ruled out the possibility of Head taking part in the last Test, but his inclusion suggests the selectors’ approach to give young players a chance to get a feel of the Asian conditions, especially after the current team's dismal batting performance in the first two Tests. Australia have now lost eight Tests in a row in Asia, including four Tests against India in 2013, and now two each against Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
Captain of South Australia in the Sheffield Shield, Head has been part of the English county side Yorkshire since July. He helped the team reach the quarter-finals of the NatWest T20 blast and the Royal London One-day games, aggregating 113 and 277 runs respectively.
The 22-year old has played just a solitary ODI for the national team, as part of the tri-series involving West Indies, South Africa and Australia in the Caribbean in June. He also played a couple of T20Is against India at the start of this year. The decision to include him might also be prompted by the think-tank’s target to get as many players acclimatised to the sub-continent conditions before their tour to India next year.
Head had a feel of the sub-continent wickets as part of the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League this season, although his stint was limited to just three matches. compiling just 54 runs with a high score of 37.
The visitors’ batting has been a major cause of concern for them, with the highest total of just 203 in four innings. The dismal performance has led to two huge defeats in consecutive Tests, and their third consecutive series loss in Asia, deeming the last Test at Colombo as dead-rubber. Since 2000, this was only the second time after the Trent Bridge Test last year, that Australia had lost half their side before reaching 100 in both innings of a Test.