Travis Head produced a knock for the ages as the Australian star smashed 123 from 83 balls in the fourth innings of the first Ashes Test against England in Perth. Head, who opened in place of the injured Usman Khawaja, led the charge for the hosts in their 205-run chase, which was achieved in a record 28.2 overs.
Head put up the fastest-ever century in the fourth innings in Test cricket, with his ton coming off in just 69 balls. He also slammed the second-fastest ever hundred in the history of the Ashes. He struck 16 fours and four sixes in his knock that came at a strike rate of 148.19.
With Head smashing a blistering knock and being a makeshift opener in the other formats too, people wonder whether he can be given a permanent role in the Test side more so with Australia struggling with openers in the longest format.
However, Australia's stand-in captain Steve Smith remained non-committal on the question after his team's eight-wicket win over England in Perth. "Let's just digest this first, the last couple of hours have been pretty incredible," Smith told reporters after the match. "It's probably too early to say anything on that, but what we just witnessed was quite incredible. I'm glad to have been in the house to see it.
"We didn't like how things functioned in the first innings with Marn going up top and me batting three. So Trav took it on and played one of the great Ashes knocks."
Meanwhile, Head came to open due to Khawaja's back spasm. The 38-year-old did not open in the first innings and felt pain again in the second innings, and did not come out to play. "He was reasonable this morning. I actually thought it was his knee at one point," Smith said of Khawaja. "Fortunately, it was the same thing [back spasms]. He [Khawaja] said before that it's probably one of the best back spasms he's ever had, given the circumstances [of Head's century].
Australia are now 1-0 up in the five-match Test series against the English side. The second Test is a bit far away from now, with Gabba hosting it from December 4 onwards.
