'They’re paid to do,' says Head about Hayden's 'pile of mediocrity' comment on Australia squad for SA Tests

NEW DELHI: Australia batter Travis Head has clapped back at former opener Matthew Hayden indirectly for his recent comments on the selection of the Australian team for the South Africa Test tour. Australia begins a three-Test tour against South Africa on Friday (Oct 9) in Durban. Hayden's comments came after the recall of 34-year-old Nic Maddinson to the Australian side after a long gap of 10 years. Aussie selectors decided to hand Maddinson a comeback after injuries to Josh Inglis and Cameron Green. Hayden, on a podcast, had called the team selection "the greatest pile of mediocrity that we’ve seen in a generation of cricket."

Head claps back at criticism of Aussie team selection

Head was at the press conference in Durban before the first Test when he said to reporters about the criticism from recent players: "I think it’s unfairly judged a fair bit from a group of past players, pretty much that put the bullet through a lot of players, which I think is unfair. But that’s what they’re paid to do. Some of them need a job, so they go after us, and that’s totally fine."

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Head, however, brushed aside any impact of Hayden's comments on the selected squad and said: "This group is strong enough to deal with those sorts of things. That’s how it is. It’s unfortunate sometimes to have some of that feedback from a generation of players that we have huge respect for, but that’s the caper."

WTC 2025-27 Final place at stake

Australia and South Africa, the finalists of the World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-25 cycle, will be vying to make their case strong enough for a place in the WTC 2025-27 final. South Africa, the defending WTC champions, is currently placed second on the WTC 2025-27 points table with 75 percent, while Australia, the two-time consecutive finalists and WTC 2021-23 winners, is on top with 80 percent points.

A win in the three-match series by either team will go a long way toward securing a place in the ongoing WTC cycle final for both contenders.