The outstanding domestic form of young Australian batting star Travis Head is helping alleviate fears the bottom could fall out of an ageing Test lineup.
South Australia’s Head leads a chasing pack of hopefuls ready to apply pressure to the Test team in the near future.
With five of Australia’s top seven already on the wrong side of 30, the time will come soon when a rejuvenation of the batting lineup is in order.
And whenever that happens, Callum Ferguson believes his Redbacks teammate is likely to be at the forefront of discussions.
A top order batsman with a compact technique and a love of the off-side, Head’s form in the first half of the Sheffield Shield season is demanding he be put down in the black book of Australia’s selectors.
The No.3 position that Head covets has not been a strength of Australian cricket since Ricky Ponting was moved down the order in 2011.
Current first drop Shane Watson has hit two centuries in his past four Tests in the position, but at 32 there are question marks over his long-term ownership of it.
It opens the door for a top-order specialist like 28-year-old Alex Doolan, fringe Test players Usman Khawaja and Phil Hughes or a left-field option like Head.
The 19-year-old has notched three scores in the 90s this summer, taking his career total to five without converting to a century.
And once that hurdle is cleared, big things are expected of the left-hander according to Ferguson.
“Over the last couple of years I’ve been witness to Travis and how destructive he can be,” Ferguson said.
“Coming in at three he’s a guy that takes the game on and moves the game forward.
“He has stood up in some very difficult circumstances throughout the season – his 98 (against Tasmania) a few games ago was something to behold.
“He hits the ball as cleanly as anyone around the country.
“I’d expect he’ll see higher honours further down the track.”
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