Travis Head says that his off-spin is going to be having a great task in the second Test against Sri Lanka after he bagged four wickets in the series opener.
Australian batter Travis Head says that his off-spin is going to be crucial for Australia in the second Test against Sri Lanka after he picked four wickets in the series opener.
The left-hand batter and occasional spinner returned with the figures of 4/10 to match the lead spinner Nathan Lyon’s second innings wicket haul in Friday’s three-day convincing victory against the hosts at Galle.
The middle-order batter was just declared fit ahead of the 1st Test after he missed the fifth ODI following a hamstring injury.
The 28-year-old said it clear that he was sure about his role at Galle’s turning pitch before the match even began.
“It was a waiting game for a few days before the Test and bowling was a big part of that,”
he told reporters.
“I knew I was going to have a role at some point but the two spinners, all the bowlers, did a fantastic job for myself and Marnus (Labuschagne) not to be needed at all.
“It’s going to be a huge part of the next Test,”
he added.
“I expected to bowl (in the first Test) but maybe not at that stage of the game.”
Head was called into the bowl at the 19th over of Sri Lanka’s second innings with the hosts struggling at 95/4 after returning to bat with a trail of 109 runs.
The part-timer sends Dinesh Chandimal on the second ball for his maiden Test wicket after 26 previous Test appearances.
He bowled an off-break later to trap Dhananjaya de Silva with three balls that hit his pad and he was judged in an lbw.
Lyon, who took a total of nine wickets in the match, was ready in action from the other end, and Head’s twin strikes in his third over removed the tail-enders to bundle out Sri Lanka on 113.
Cummins praised Head’s bowling effort after the team won the 1st Test by 10 wickets to go as 1-0 in the two-match series.
“He’s always pretty keen for a bowl. First Test wicket too, so he’s got four now,”
said Cummins.
“We wanted Travis in the side because he offers not only batting but bowling as well.”
But Head also realized that his main role was batting and he could not score enough runs he expressed his disappointment after making just six runs before he was caught and bowled off de Silva’s spin in the first innings.
“I felt my lead-up was really good, I just made a mistake,”
said Head.
“It’s amazing all the work you can do in the nets… but it’s about going out and emulating that.”
The second Test is to be played at the same venue on Friday.