Travis Head spent a sleepless night on the eve of Australia’s Test against Bangladesh in Darwin. It wasn’t so much a specific threat in the opposition bowling attack or even the prospect of becoming the first Aussie batter to make a Test ton in every state and territory. What was keeping him up in bed instead had to do with the South Australian not having faced most of the Bangladeshi fast bowlers prior to this point. More specifically the fact that he didn’t have any specific cues as to their load-ups and other intricacies he looks for while mentally preparing himself before a Test.
Head’s solution therefore was to time his customary lap around the ground before play on the opening day of the Test with when the Bangladeshi fast bowlers were going through their warm-ups. To ensure that he got a crash-course on their bowling actions and release points.
The 32-year-old was at it again a few days ago in Potchefstroom as Australia took on a South African Invitational XI whose bowlers were largely unknown. It didn’t matter that this was a largely inconsequential warm-up game without any stakes. Nor that this was a bowling attack that held zero challenges to one of the most destructive batters in the world.
It still had to be done. For, that’s clearly the extent to which Head commits to the measured methods behind the madness that is otherwise associated with his batting. Along with the precision that comes with the ticking of each box before he feels settled.
A rather massive contrast to the perception around Travis Head being this maverick batter who simply shows up for a good time and gives it a whack like only he can. One that still amuses the left-handed opener even if it doesn’t really bother him.
Head had a disappointing series against Bangladesh ©Getty
“When you listen to how people talk and interpret how I go about things, it’s the polar opposite to what I really do, which does make me laugh,” he tells Cricbuzz with a chuckle.
“Sometimes a bit of a myth stuff is a good thing. It keeps everyone on their toes. So, it works for me.”
“I still think about batting a lot. I want to be as consistent as I can with how I go about my preparation. I feel like I ask questions to a lot of people. I need reinforcement. It probably doesn’t look like that from the outside,” he adds.
The myth-busting from Head when it comes to his batting also extends to his approach in the middle. Especially with regards to how he perceives risk-taking and the external belief that he always prefers to be a high-stakes gambler with the decisions he takes with bat in hand across formats.
“It’s so funny that people think I’m very high risk. I feel like I’m the opposite. I feel like I’m very low risk in the options that I take.”
“I’m always thinking about risk and reward. When I calculate them, they may look high risk, but for me, that’s the lowest to score runs. I try to take the risk out. Even playing one-day cricket, something like hitting the ball in the air or hitting over someone, it’s still calculated.
“I think the risk is still in my favour, not the bowler’s favour. I always try to think about that. It may look like that for those watching. That’s funny too. Everyone just interprets things in different ways.”
The more you hear Head talk about how he then does go about getting himself primed and ready for a Test series, the more you realise how most of it is in his mental preparation. Starting with even how he goes about analysing his own performances in the lead-up. Head got himself a breezy 22 off 21 balls in Potchefstroom over the weekend. And while he does admit that a bit of a longer stay would have been a better result, he’s not too fussed about how it played out, considering the lack of competitive jeopardy involved with the contest.
“I think someone joked on Sunday (when Australia batted), by asking ‘are you going to get after them today?’ And my joke was, no, I’ll get after them on Friday. Today’s not my day. I want to watch the NRL grand final,” he says, “Of course, I’m pretty disappointed to not have more time in the crease, but 20-odd balls I faced, I found the middle of that, felt good, and that’s all I’m looking for.”
There’s also a slight difference with how he’s gone about the lead-up to the first Test in Durban because of having been in the country for a couple of weeks already with the ODIs. Not to forget the three 50-over matches in Zimbabwe that kicked off this African campaign for the Australians.
Australia played the 1st ODI against Zimbabwe on September 15 ©AFP
“Since I’ve been here for a period of time, I’m just ready for it to happen. So along with my preparation, there’s also finding a balance with a bit of time off, because I think it’s going to be hot, humid, it’s going to be a tough series. It’s different than what the Ashes was for me last summer, where I went from a tour, went to play in Tassie (Tasmania), had four or five days in Perth before the first day of the series,” he explains.
While Head does like to spend time with the team analyst to study the opposition bowlers, he only does so for those he hasn’t had much previous experience against. So, he won’t be stressing too much on watching videos of Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje or Keshav Maharaj. He will catch a few clips of Dane Paterson though having not faced the seamer much in his career. But what really stands out is how Head substitutes overanalysing the opposition by watching some of his own past innings to get himself into the right zone.
“I don’t go into series really watching too much about what they do. I watch a lot of what I do. YouTube’s a good thing. I’ll still watch over innings where I played well. In environments that I think I’ll play, whether it be a one-day knock or from a Test.”
There’s also the work he puts in on figuring out ways to avoid getting into bad habits with his batting, like his recent travails with chopping on to his stumps. A manner of dismissal that’s followed him around for the last two months. For now, he’s confident of having found a way out.
“I batted out of my crease. It was to do with the slowness of the wicket in Potch (Potchefstroom) but also the challenge of slower air speeds of the bowlers there, much like the Bangladeshi ones we faced (in August). But I learned from it. I haven’t batted out of my crease in 12 years of my career. I found myself doing so in the warm-up game. It sort of takes that risk of chopping on away. Normally, I bat right up to the stumps, deep in my crease. So, now if the pitches are slow and start keeping low during the Tests, I know I’m ready. It’s about being open to change always.”
In a team which has the likes of Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne, who spend copious amounts of time in the nets, Head’s training sessions often don’t get the kind of coverage that they deserve. Not that he’s bothered by it. But even his stints in the nets, he says, are flexible and he bases them purely on what he’s looking to get out of them.
“Different for different things. If I face bowlers, try not to get out,” he says. And you can see him visibly unhappy with himself if he does, like he did after nicking off to Josh Hazlewood during the practice session on Tuesday afternoon.
“That’s been a big thing over a long period of time now. I don’t like facing quicks too much, but if I get in there for a short period of time, just sharpen up. It’s 10-15 minutes. I just want to be as sharp as I can be. Feel like I’m in the game,” he adds.
Travis Head knows how to balance fun with staying focused ©Getty
It’s not always about batting in the nets either. There are times, he reveals, the days leading up to a Test are all about getting the right feel.
“Sometimes just walking around the ground, get your kit bag ready, just feeling like it’s game day tomorrow. It changes things. I haven’t got one set blueprint. I just go off feel and what I need. I trained every day before the Perth Test last year, and then I hardly trained before the next Test. So, it’s like once I’ve got it sorted and I feel good, then I’ll chill.”
“I feel like I’m close to be ready. But the first Test is always the issue because the first Test, you’re always like, am I going to be close or am I going to be miles off it? I’ll have a couple of sleepless nights going into it, but once you’re in the game, you feel relaxed. We just wait and see till that first morning.”
There is the crazy fun side to Travis Head, which comes to the fore after a Test win when he often leads the celebrations. And it’s this part of his personality that has turned him into a cult hero around Australia. But it’s also what at times can get those who don’t know him to misconstrue opinions about Travis Head the cricketer. And for his overall fun-loving aura, you dare not get too close to him while he’s having a net.
“I don’t like the chitter chatter. I still want things to look and feel a certain way. Once you hit this level, everyone’s a bit weird. I have my things that piss me off and things that I like. And I still have an expectation on how things should go. Like, if something debunks that, it’s my career. If that’s the nets or if that’s people behind or anything, trying to draw your attention away from what you want, I get frustrated by that.”
This writer can attest to it having once had Head honk his car horn intentionally in the MCG parking lot while Pat Cummins was being interviewed. It was mostly in jest but also in retaliation for his batting session having been interrupted by some “chitter chatter” behind the net. But it’s another window into just how serious Head is about every aspect of his cricket, which can at times be lost in the narrative around his overall cheery and happy-go-lucky disposition.
“There’s definitely two parts of it. Obviously, I had a lot more fun in the last three or four years with what I’m doing. And I think that’s hugely important. Especially if I’m going to sacrifice as much time as we do to do this stuff. But the flip side is that there’s a balancing act to that. You don’t want to take a piss too much and laugh and giggle and have fun and then forget about the main thing. It’s about making sure I’m in the perfect place to take on the next challenge, which right now is a very good South African attack in their own conditions.”
And we’re just one sleepless Travis Head night away from it.
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