Travis Head will play at the ‘G.’ The dangerous southpaw who has scored back-to-back hundreds in Adelaide and Brisbane is ready to torment his favourite opposition, the India cricket team, in Melbourne. Reports had claimed that Head had picked up a quad injury. Although Australian management refuted the claims, they did name two vice-captains, Steve Smith and Head, for the Boxing Day Test.
Travis Head “fully fit” for Boxing Day Test
Head himself had said he was pretty certain to play at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, and now his captain, Pat Cummins, on the eve of the Australia vs. India 4th Test, says the middle-order batter is fit. Head had an optional Christmas Day training session and was cleared by the medical team on December 25 to play in the penultimate match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Cummins told reporters in Melbourne that fielding might be an issue, but Head’s “fully fit.” Yesterday, Australia’s head coach Andrew McDonald stated the same. “Yeah, really confident that (Head) will play. Has he got some things to work through? Yeah, he has, so that’s what you would have seen. There’s no concern at the moment … I think he looked good with the bat in hand, so obviously his skills are in good order,” McDonald had said.
Boland comes in for Hazlewood
Australia has also announced its XI for the Australia vs India 4th Test. With Head fit, Cummins has made just one change, and that too is a forced one. With Josh Hazlewood out injured, Scott Boland comes back into the team while Mitchell Marsh continues to run out of runs. The decision to also have Nathan Lyon in the XI suggests Australia does think spin will play a role. Lyon has taken just three wickets after bowling 68 overs so far.
Australia Playing XI for Boxing Day Test
Usman Khawaja, Sam Konstas, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh, Alex Carey (wk), Pat Cummins (c), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Scott Boland
