Head's signature innings to match 'love' of England

Travis Head finally has a signature innings to complement his deep appreciation for the rhythms of cricket in England, as Australia's explosive middle-order weapon declared his recent axing from the Test side has not dented his staunch self-belief. 

The Aussies landed the first blow in their pursuit of World Test Championship glory on day one at The Oval as Head blasted a furious 106-ball century and combined with Steve Smith (95no) in an unbroken 251-run fourth-wicket stand.

Head's first Test ton abroad, an innings that had swelled to 146no from 156 balls at stumps, underscored the left-hander's emergence as one of international cricket's most damaging batters.

While the knock was significant in itself as the first hundred scored in a WTC decider after a low-scoring first iteration of the ICC event in 2021, Head's hand will have also identified him as a major threat to England in their own conditions for the Ashes series to follow. 

"Obviously this week is hugely important for us (for our form) over the last two years and however hard we worked, but we're moving into an Ashes series," said the player of the 2021-22 Ashes series hosted Down Under.

"If it's a low-scoring series, I just want to contribute. If it's a high(-scoring series) that may not generate hundreds, it doesn't faze me."

Although Head has expressed his enthusiasm for playing cricket in the UK, his record in the country would not previously have put fear into the hearts of England (or India for this WTC final).

Excluding tour games played on Australia's 2019 Ashes trip that ended with him being dropped for its finale at The Oval, Head had managed 769 runs at 26.52 in 29 first-class innings in the UK before this week's match.

That includes a run of 24 innings spread over three separate County Championship stints for Yorkshire, Worcestershire and Sussex which yielded only three half-centuries.

Despite that, Head professed his love of playing cricket in its birth country even before Wednesday's match-turning innings, and has outlined a desire to return for future stints in the UK in the coming years.

"I absolutely love the summers over here," Head told cricket.com.au in the days leading into the WTC final.

"You'll see in the future that hopefully I can play a lot more county cricket if the opportunity provides. I've played for three counties in three years, (but) haven't had the stint I would have liked.

"From a lifestyle point of view and now a family point of view, I love Australia but I also love the summers in England.

"There's not much better in London or in the country, and hopefully I can do it more in the future – not (necessarily with) an eye to an Ashes in particular."

Speaking again after his devastating knock that saw him repeatedly silence a vociferously pro-India crowd in south London, Head explained he has made several alterations to his batting technique since the 2019 Ashes.

Yet the 29-year-old insisted they only formed part of his overall reinvention as a counter-punching No.5 now focused more on substance than style.

"Technically I've made those changes not just for England, but for all-round," he told reporters after his side finished the day on 3-327. 

"I feel like there's certain parts of my game that you adapt in each condition that you go to. That's the same going anywhere, but the foundations that are set in my technique have definitely changed a lot since 2019.

"I felt like coming here, I was in a better place."

Head also stressed he remains as comfortable as ever in an Australian side that overlooked him for the opening Test of their tour of India earlier this year due to his perceived weaknesses against spin.

"I felt like that (secure in the team) for a period of time. I know certain decisions haven't gone my way in the past but I felt like I've got a fair bit to contribute to this team and valued within the team," he said.

"That doesn't always guarantee playing.

"Selection's not going to go your way sometimes but (he feels) entrenched within the Australian cricket team, that I've got the backing of the staff and the captain and the players."

And much like how he maintained his resolve after his snub in India, Head showed no inclination to alter his belligerent method on Wednesday even despite early evidence to suggest conditions would not be in his favour.

Most alarming was the castling of Marnus Labuschagne from a delivery (the first he faced after lunch) that swerved away from the hand of Mohammad Shami before viciously seaming back into his stumps.

That sent Head scurrying down the descent from The Oval changerooms to the playing surface with his midday meal still digesting and cloud cover giving India's four-pronged seam attack a notable advantage on an unpredictable surface.

The South Australian stuck fat with the method that has seen him average 58.86 since the beginning of the 2021-22 Ashes, slapping six of his first 16 deliveries to the boundary as he singlehandedly ripped the momentum away from India's quicks.

Shami, who had been his side's most threatening bowler and was the man captain Rohit Sharma went back to throughout the day more than any other, could do little as Head helped himself to 47 from the 39 balls he faced from their attack leader.

Even Smith, the man who averaged more than 100 on his last Test tour of England, became a secondary consideration for the Indians.

Only a spirited spell from Mohammad Siraj appeared to trouble Head, though Ajinkya Rahane had gotten his fingertips on a bullet cut-shot at gully that flew to the rope when Head was on 71.

A switch to a short-pitched bowling plan as he neared triple-figures was countered by daring upper-cuts through third man or dismissive pull shots in front of square-leg, as Head cruised to his second-quickest Test century after his 85-ball ton against England at the Gabba in 2021.

India's bowling coach Paras Mhambrey conceded he believed the bouncer strategy had been employed far too late.

"That was one (tactic) definitely discussed amongst our bowlers," said Mhambrey, the two-Test former medium pacer.

"We always felt that that was an area that we could exploit against him. But we could have done it a little earlier. Maybe 30-40 runs before this strategy could have been (used).

"You've got to trust the captain. I think you also go with his instincts. And he felt maybe that situation wasn't right to use that kind of a strategy. But I thought we could have done it a little earlier."

World Test Championship Final

June 7-11: Australia v India, The Oval

Australia squad: Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey (wk), Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Travis Head, Josh Inglis (wk), Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Todd Murphy, Michael Neser, Steve Smith (vc), Mitchell Starc, David Warner

India squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Ishan Kishan (wk), KS Bharat (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Mohammad Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Jaydev Unadkat

Find out everything you need to know for the World Test Championship Final here