Cape Town. Australia opener Travis Head has expressed concern over the lack of collective contribution from the team’s batting after the Gkebarha Test defeat against South Africa.
He said that in the last few months, individual batsmen have played good innings, but the team has failed to build big partnerships. Head hopes that Australia will overcome this weakness in the next Test to be held at Newlands.
Speaking to Cricket Australia on the defeat in the Gkebarha Test, Head candidly said, “We had a very bad day. If we had not been out for 99 runs, it was quite possible that the Test would have been drawn.
It is very clear what we did wrong.” He also admitted that a strong Australian team had had a bad week.
Six times in the seven innings of the four Test matches played against Bangladesh and South Africa, an Australian batsman scored 50 or more runs. Head played an innings of 121 runs in Gkebarha.
Earlier, Cameron Green had scored 104 runs in Darwin and 67 runs in Mackay. Matthew Renshaw played innings of 190 and 82 in Durban, while Steve Smith scored 71 in the second innings in Darwin.
However, despite these performances the team did not achieve consistent collective success. Australia’s innings at Gkebarha collapsed to 99 runs, with Smith’s 28 being the top score.
Head said, “We had talked about this before this series as well. Every time a different player performed well, but we as a team were not able to bat as collectively as we needed.”
He said that Renshaw’s innings last week was excellent and such individual performances are important in winning matches. However, he stressed that the cooperation of the other batsmen is equally important.
According to Head, the lack of big partnerships between the top five batsmen has been clearly visible in recent Test matches. The 92-run partnership between Head and Marnus Labuschagne in Gkebarha’s second innings was only the fourth partnership of 50 or more between the top five batsmen.
In contrast, in each of the four Test matches that Australia won in the previous Ashes series, there were partnerships of at least 80 between the top five batsmen.
Head said, “Making big partnerships has been our team’s strength for a long time. It wins matches, but in the last few months we have not been able to do that.
It is difficult to tell the reason for this. We are facing excellent bowling attacks in challenging conditions, but it is not that we are not trying.”
Head completed his century in 155 balls in Gkebarha. This was his slowest century after his first two Test centuries in 2019. He said that facing bowlers who were tired due to continuous bowling helped him.
There is talk of a change in Australia’s top order for the next Test amid the availability of Cameron Green and Josh Inglis. The return of Renshaw could create an option to open the innings with Head, while Green could get a place in the team.
Regarding the batting order, Head said, “I don’t see any difference between batting at number one and number five. The ball is the same red ball and you have to continuously use your skills better.
Sometimes you come in after losing three wickets early, sometimes you face the second new ball and sometimes you come to bat in a good position. Whatever the order, the process remains the same.”
Now Australia will try to convert individual performance in the Newlands Test into collective contribution and make a comeback by building big partnerships. The third Test between the two teams will be played in Cape Town from October 27, currently the three-match series is tied at 1-1.