Travis Head raises his bat after scoring 150 runs during play on Day 2 of the third Test between India and Australia at the Gabba in Brisbane. (AP Photo)
Boxing Day Test: After a nervous wait of a few days, Australia will be able to call on Travis Head in the fourth India vs Australia Test match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). The in-form Travis Head has been officially passed fit ahead of the Boxing Day Test.
According to reports from Australia, captain Pat Cummins confirmed this on Christmas. He also added that teenager Sam Konstas will make his debut, replacing Nathan McSweeney, while Scott Boland will make a return to the Playing XI. Boland will find a place in the Playing XI in place of the injured Josh Hazlewood.
“Trav’s (Travis Head) good to go, he’ll play,” Australia’s skipper Pat Cummins was quoted as saying by multiple media organisations. “He just ticked off some final things today and yesterday. But no worries about injury with Trav. He’ll go into the game fully fit.”
There was a cloud over Travis Head playing in the Boxing Day Test because he had suffered a minor quad strain while batting in the Brisbane Test last week.
Australia’s vice-captain had undergone a fitness test on Christmas. With two more Tests remaining in the India vs Australia series, both teams have won one game each.
Talking about the importance of Travis Head to the team, Cummins said: “I don’t think you’ll see too much management of him throughout the game. He just kind of plays as is. Maybe around fielding, if he’s a bit uncomfortable, we will (manage him), but he’s fully fit. It feels like the last 12 months, he’s been in this unbelievable vein of form and he just keeps going on with it. He’s hitting the ball really cleanly. You can see the pressure that he shifts back onto the opposition literally from the first ball that he walks out there. I’m loving that he’s in our team and I don’t have to try to set a field and bowl to him. He’s hitting the ball as well as I’ve ever seen anyone. So long may it continue.”
Australia XI for fourth Test
Usman Khawaja, Sam Konstas, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Mitch Marsh, Alex Carey (wk), Pat Cummins (c), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Scott Boland
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