Head hunts for slot in Australian playing XI

Head put on a 75-run partnership for the fourth wicket with Aaron Finch, who made a brilliant 137 as Australia chased down Sri Lanka’s 318 with two balls to spare. “It was a good hit out, probably a tighter game than we wanted it to be,” said Head after the game. “They dug in pretty well in the end and posted 300, and chasing down, I thought we did beautifully. Finchy at the top of the order was fantastic. To bring it home it was a nice team performance. 

“We just had a really nice game plan, we try to spot every ball and try not to leave it right to the end -- ended up working out that time -- but I feel it was pretty controlled. In parts, it probably wasn’t as controlled as others, but it’s not going to be clean sailing in run chases.”

Assessing his own performance, which also included tidy bowling figures of 1 for 13 in three overs, Head said, “I want to win games of cricket, one way or the other, so pleasing to go out there and get a few runs and some time out in the middle.” 

Being the current ICC Cricket World Cup champion has made Australia one of the favourites to win the title in England, and Head believes the side’s experience at the ICC Cricket World Cup will benefit it in the coming few weeks. “There are some strong teams,” he reflected. “We played good tournament cricket back in the World Cup -- the experience we’ve got from that and the players that we’ve still got -- we’re confident going into the first game. We’ve got to hit the ground running and play really well because we’ve been a little bit inconsistent in some of the last 12 months.” 

Australia was without Steve Smith, the captain, Mitchell Starc and John Hastings in the warm-up game against Sri Lanka, which Head chalked up to the side testing their bench strength. Australia will have one more in warm-up game, against Pakistan in Edgbaston on May 29, before the management sits down to decide team combination. 

Commenting on the English conditions, something Head is familiar with having played for Yorkshire in the 2016-17 county cricket season, he expected the pitch to play out similarly during the tournament. “Enjoyed it today, sun’s out and blue skies, which is nice,” he noted.