Travis Head Is A Cheatcode
Travis Head T20 Performances
This article is not reinventing the wheel, we all know Travis Head is a stud. His dismantling of 130,00 fans in Ahmedabad is enough to place him as one of the greatest finals performances in not just cricket history, but in the history of sports. And his peak has only been increasing since November 19th. T20 cricket seems to have been made for a top order batsman like Travis Head. He swings big and the next thing you know he has 50 with a 250+ strike rate and the game is still in the powerplay. His partnership with Abishek Sharma at the top of the Sunrisers batting order, revolutionized how some view T20 cricket as a whole. Gone are the days of sitting into your innings, if you do not hit a six in the first over you need to rethink the lineup. While it wasn’t just Head that set a scoring storm in the IPL, the Sunrisers had plenty of heavy hitters. The excitement surrounding Head going into the T20 World Cup could not have been higher.
The T20 World Cup was not the ideal tournament for batsman, coming from the IPL which saw scoring at an all-time high, the pitches in America and the West Indies left much to be desired. This however did not stop the run machine from producing like he was in Ahmedabad. In Australia’s opening match against Oman Head’s super aggressive start bites back and in a tale as old as time he swings at a full outside toss and it gets taken at mid-wicket. Two overs earlier he had played a similar ball and hit it for four, but that is the risks of playing for the boundary. His 12 off 10 didn’t trouble Australia in the slightest as they routed Oman for their opening match. The next match would be much more challenging than Oman as they faced England. In this match we get quite the classic Travis Head performance. Starting early he and David Warner’s partnership starts off in a blaze, and while it does burn out quickly it was bright enough to practically put the game away. Despite England dismissing Warner in the 4th and Head in the 5th over, the damage had already been done and the partnership had already secured 74 runs. Head’s 34 of 18 balls was one of 4 Australians in the 30s and their total of 201 was way too much for England to handle. In the next three games Head scored; 34* off 17 balls against Namibia as they won in 6 overs, 68 off 49 balls against Scotland, and 31 off of 21 balls against Bangladesh. Unfortunately this means that we have to talk about the match I am sure every Australian Cricket fan wants to ignore. Ducks are never great, they are especially never great in must win situations. Naveen-ul-Haq bowls a perfect ball that completely stumps Travis Head, sending him out with 0 on 3 balls. While every teams wants their top order batsman to perform at the highest level every game, this game exposed Australia for their heavy reliance on either Head or Warner. This game mimic’s the collapse that Travis Head experienced in the IPL final, when both Sharma/Head or Warner/Head collapse, the team did not have an answer (Also it should be noted Gurbaz was performing greatly on the winning side in both matches too).
There was still one game left and Head had time for redemption. And it was against the team whose souls he crushed 7 months prior. In the India and Australia matchup, India batted first and Rohit Sharma had a masterclass. Every shot he wanted was flying for a boundary. Sharma, with November 19th fresh in his mind, hit 8 sixes for a total of 92 off 41 balls, easily having one of the best performances of the T20 World Cup. Chasing 205 if Australia were to win they would need heroics from their top of order. And with Warner caught in the first over, it would rest on Travis Head’s shoulders. The thing about team sports is that you can have an amazing performance, and it just not be your teams night. It was that type of day for Head. His spell of 4’s and 6’s were not enough to push Australia to the target score. He finished with 76 off 43 balls, an epic performance, but ultimately not enough.
Head’s performance in the T20 World Cup, despite being disappointing due to Australia’s failure to make it into the semi’s. Would be generational had it not come with the high expectations of winning the tournament. Head finished with 255 runs in the tournament, only second to Rohit Sharma (257) and Rahmanullah Gurbaz (281) who both played 1 more innings than Head. His 158.38 strike rate was one of the best in the tournament. And he finished with the most boundaries of the tournament, hitting tournament high 26 fours, and 15 sixes. Easily making him the best batsman of the tournament and the ICC rank number 1 in the T20 format.
Since the World Cup, Australia has played in 5 T20 matches, 3-0 against Scotland and 1-1 against England. And his first game against Scotland is so absolutely insane that it is what inspired me to write the article. Australia were chasing 154, a score they would surely get quickly, but Travis Head hit 80 runs in the first 7 overs. He saw 25 balls and 17 of them went for 4 and 5 went for 6. While we can debate that this was done against Scotland an association team not necessarily close to the level of Australia (Which we will ignore the same way Root fans ignore the number of innings he’s played when talking centuries). A strike rate of 320.00 is absolute madness. While being interviewed after the match Head said, “Once I get away, I guess that's my role, maximising the powerplay." Which so easily defines his style of play, sure he might go out early in the game, but while he is there the ball will be flying. In the next two matches he gets dismissed quite quickly, going for a golden duck and then 12 off 11 balls. Both being dismissed by Brad Currie, maybe India can offer Brad citizenship so they can finally dismiss Head. In Australia’s first game against England, Head is back at it again with 59 off 23 balls giving him a strike rate of 256 and a player of the match nod in an easy victory. In the next match he goes for 31 off 14 balls in a loss, where Liam Livingstone put England on his back to win. In both matches, Head was dismissed in the powerplay, yet still had a 200+ strike rate.
While there is much debate about what the future of cricket holds and distain from some towards the quicker formats. We must appreciate the greatness of a player in his prime who takes the saying, “I’m not here for a long time, I am here for a good time.” to its’ limit. Instead of settling into your crease and taking runs, Travis Head just ask the question, “what if the ball just left the field?” and as long as that mindset lives he will continue to succeed.