‘Australia’s best player’ Travis Head on batting at top in Tests: ‘I am not a true opening batter’

The recipient of the Allan Border Medal 2026, Travis Head, admits he is not a ‘true opening batter’ but is comfortable where his game is at right now. Opening the batting against England during the home Ashes, Head scored 600 runs in a triumphant campaign for his team, but doesn’t see himself batting at the top in the traditional sense.

Head usually opens in white-ball cricket for Australia and in very condition-specific set-ups, like in India and Sri Lanka. A mainstay at the top in ODIs and T20Is, Head’s first series as a Test opener came six months ago, when he set the tone for the home Ashes with a match-winning 123 off just 83 balls in the series opener in Perth, which Australia won inside two days. Head followed that with centuries in Adelaide and Sydney, ending up with the most runs across both camps.

What started as a mere discussion to permanently grant the Test opening slot to Head could end with the attacking batter continuing in his role at least until the end of this WTC cycle, where Australia is due to play at least 20 Test matches. That cramped leg begins with the two-match Test series against Bangladesh, starting on Thursday (Aug 13) in Darwin.

"I don't know exact stats, but what have I played: 170, 180 first-class games. I might have opened in ten [12] of them," Head said.

"I think it would suggest that I'm not an opening batter, a true opening batter, [in terms of] what Australian cricket is known [for], I guess. Guys that have come through the grades opening the batting and played state cricket opening batting, and played Test cricket as opening batters.

"I think my game is conducive to playing well. I feel like I can do a role at the top. I'm at the top, but it's not [as] that true opening batter, if that makes sense. I know that I've still got to work continuously hard at the new ball. I know I'm going to make mistakes. That's okay. I'm very comfortable with where my game's at,” he continued.

Flexible Role Across Busy 12 Months

After hosting Bangladesh for two Tests, Australia will head to South Africa for three Tests before facing New Zealand at home for four red-ball matches. Australia will then travel to India for the away Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) followed by the one-off 150th Test against England. They will travel to England next June and July for the away Ashes.

Head suggested that he is happy to deliver for his team at whatever position.

"I'm always happy just to do what the team needs and what's required, and I just want to contribute to every Test match," he said.

"So, we've got a lot of opportunities to do that over the next 21 Tests over the next ten months. I don't sort of pigeonhole myself or expect anything in terms of performance. I just want to go out and play my role, whether that's setting a tone at the start, whether that's big hundreds, whatever sort of the series needs and is tailored to.

"We're going to play in a lot of different conditions over the next 12 months. It's going to require different efforts. It may not look like the traditional thing all the time. I just want to be able to play a role that ends up winning Test matches. So, I'm very comfortable in the fact that it's not going to work every day. I'm not going to perform every day, but when I am able to, I hope it means that we're winning games of cricket,” he continued.