Travis Head delivers bad news to Scott Boland as Aussies mull stunning mid-match switch
The Aussie fave would be very unfortunate not to feature after his heroics at the SCG.
Travis Head has suggested the Aussie cricket team will look to be flexible during their series against Sri Lanka with the batter suggesting Scott Boland might miss out on selection with three spinners preferred. Head has been confirmed to open the batting in the first Test starting on Wednesday alongside Usman Khawaja.
Despite the likes of Khawaja and Ricky Ponting backing youngster Sam Konstas to retain his position as Test opener, Head will take the position due to his good record while opening in the subcontinent. And while Konstas' position in the XI is up for debate, it appears Aussie favourite Boland will be unlikely to get a run with Head backing the likely inclusion of three spinners in the team.
Sri Lanka will likely look to spin as their best chance of bowling Australia out. Australia has struggled at times on subcontinent wickets with the likes of Head averaging 7.70 in the middle order in his last tour to India. And Australia can expect a turning wicket with Sri Lanka spinner Prabath Jayasuriya leading the attack.
Jayasuriya boasts an extraordinary strike rate in Galle and the Aussies know they will be in for a tough task in the two Tests played at the same ground. And there is plenty of speculation Mitchell Starc will be the only frontline fast-bowler in the line-up with Pat Cummins not touring due to family reasons.
Starc has always been favoured in sub continent conditions with the left-arm bowler creating foot marks in the crease for Nathan Lyon to target. And with a turning wicket expected, Todd Murphy and Matt Kuhnemann could all be in the starting XI. This was the tactic the selectors used in India in 2023.
And Head backed the move having looked at the pitch alongside Steve Smith and his teammates. "We've got three good ones I reckon," Head said on the possibility of selecting three spinners. "Hopefully they do the job and I won't have to do too much."
While all three spinners are being considered, Beau Webster was also seen bowling off-spin in the nets in the build-up to the contest. This could allow Webster to be the third off-spinner with Head contributing when needed. This would allow a second fast-bowler to be selected and hand Boland his first Test match in Sri Lanka. However, it appears a spin heavy attack will be favoured with Kuhnemann proving his fitness ahead of the first ball on Wednesday.
Travis Head opens up on flexible batting line-up
The 34-year-old opened in the sub continent in 2023 - after David Warner's injury - and was one of Australia's better batters after being sensationally left out of the XI to start the series. However, he has also traditionally struggled against spin. His average of 7.70 in his last tour of Sri Lanka is the lowest in his 54-Test career.
Although Head is a different player since that tour having proven to be Australia's best Test batter across the last two years. Coming off the back of a stellar performance against India at home in Australia's 3-1 series win, Head admitted it doesn't matter where he plays in the order.
Head also threw out a radical game plan the Aussies are considering, which would see the batting line-up constantly change throughout the series as they accomodate the conditions. "It's been a topic of conversation for the last little bit in this team on whether the Australian first innings, second innings, why doesn't the order change?" Head added. "Why can't we be flexible? What moves? How can we be brave? That hasn't played out as such yet. Is this the tour to do it? We'll wait and see."
Pardon the bad net-work with these clips but been fascinating watching Sam Konstas bat against spin in the nets. Except the fact that he likes to bat without a lid on at times, no funky shots, nothing audacious, just proper batting with some aggression with the use of his feet pic.twitter.com/So780bYYrd
— Bharat Sundaresan (@beastieboy07) January 27, 2025
Konstas was seen in the nets playing a more orthodox approach to his batting as he looks to cement his position in the starting line-up. Although it remains to be seen if he makes the starting XI with the likes of Cooper Connelly and Nathan McSweeney vying for batting positions.
The Aussies were also seen in an unusual training session with Alex Carey leading a sweeping drill. The batters copped criticism to how they played the turning ball in India back in 2023, until they regained some pride to battle for a victory and a draw to go down 2-1.