Former Australia captains Matthew Hayden and Steve Waugh expressed surprise at Travis Head’s omission from the squad for the first Test against India. Hayden said that the batsman himself was surprised to learn that he was not playing. The Australian team management has chosen right-handed batsman Peter Handscomb to replace Head as the player of the year for the 2021-22 Ashes series. The reason for not feeding Head was probably that he is a left-handed batsman.
“I can’t believe it (head’s exclusion),” Hayden was quoted as saying on Fox Cricket after the playing XI was announced for the match. Mark Waugh was sitting next to him and even Head couldn’t believe it.” Hayden said, “For me he was the best player of the summer season. I know it was completely different conditions at the Gabba in Brisbane but his 90 (against South Africa) in Brisbane was outstanding. He scored runs like it was a flat wicket but it was not. It was a green pitch full of grass.
Waugh felt that Cricket Australia’s chairman of selectors, George Bailey, and head coach, Andrew McDonald, may have given too much importance to the discussion about the wicket. Waugh wrote on Instagram, “Hard to believe we can get the number four Test batsman out in the world and probably our best batsman in the last 12 months and also he bowls better than average off spin.” Let’s wait and see. Perhaps Australia’s selectors are geniuses.
