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Burns and Head cement Ashes spots

1st February, 2019
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1st February, 2019
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Joe Burns and Travis Head must surely have cemented their Ashes spots by rescuing Australia with a pair of big tons on day one of the second Test against Sri Lanka in Canberra yesterday.

Granted, Sri Lanka fielded a greatly inexperienced attack and the Manuka Oval pitch proved great for batting, but there was no denying the tremendous skill and application showcased by Burns (172*) and Head (161).

That pair came together with Australia in peril at 3/28, with the Sri Lankan quicks getting appreciable movement both through the air and off the pitch. Marcus Harris (11) and Usman Khawaja (0) had both departed due to awfully-lazy shots, while Marnus Labuschagne (6) had nicked a nice outswinger from debutant Chamika Karunaratne.

Between them, Sri Lanka’s pace trio had played a total of five Tests leading into this match and it showed, as they were unable to maintain the pressure they built in the first hour.

Burns and Head gradually halted Sri Lanka’s charge before swinging the momentum violently in Australia’s favour after lunch. With 604 runs at an average of 46 in his first eight Tests, Head has surely done enough to cement his spot for Australia’s next match, the first Ashes Test in Birmingham starting on August 1.

It would be folly if Burns was dropped immediately after scoring a massive ton. Regardless of the circumstances yesterday, this is an opener with 1,106 runs at 42 in Tests, including four tons from just 16 matches. Burns should be a frontrunner for the Ashes.

The 29-year-old underlined yesterday that he has not just the ability but also the temperament to flourish at the highest level. In the first hour, when the ball was moving around, Burns played within himself, grinding 16 from 38 balls as he focused on playing straight.

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Although he loves to cut and pull, it wasn’t until he passed 30 that the Queenslander allowed himself to start playing square of the wicket with regularity. On 34, Burns tried to cut an off break from Dilruwan Perera and offered the most difficult of chances to first slip Dhananjaya de Silva, who barely got a hand on the ball.

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That was one of the rare mistakes Burns made while batting for an entire day, something very few Australian batsmen have done in the past decade.

Burns is not a readymade Test star – he is not likely to start bossing international cricket and leaving opposition attacks in fear like his expected Ashes opening partner David Warner. But he is a vastly-experienced batsman in the prime of his career who knows his own game inside out.

For example, Burns is more adept against pace than spin and so yesterday he made a point of not getting overly-aggressive against the Sri Lankan tweakers and instead taking on their quicks. Smart strategies like this – the acknowledgment of one’s strengths and limitations – are the basis of many very good knocks.

That’s what this was, a very good knock, regardless of the efforts of so many joyless fans to minimise Burns’ achievement. The reality is that it is not an easy thing to bat for a full day against a bowling attack of international cricketers. Particularly when you are batting with the knowledge this may be your last chance for a long while to cement a Test spot.

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Meanwhile, Head continued his golden summer, during which he has churned out 482 runs at 54 from nine innings. In the UAE against Pakistan and at home against a rampant Indian attack, Head played several mature and important innings. But he never went on to make a big score, and also wasted a series of starts by scoring 20s and 30s.

So, while the signs were good, Head was yet to really make his mark in Tests. The hard graft he did in difficult circumstances in his first two series set him up to cash in once the going got much easier in this series. He entered Test cricket with major question marks about his ability to play spin yet, so far, he has handled the tweakers nicely in all three of his series.

Travis Head bats

Travis should be Head-ed to England. (AP Photo/James Elsby)

He’s also looked good against pace except, that is, when he’s slashed at balls wide outside off stump, which is his single biggest weakness. Head got a let off in the 80s yesterday playing just that shot, but made it count by storming to a huge ton. In the process he surely locked down a middle order berth for the Ashes.

Warner, Steve Smith, Head and Burns deserve to be all but assured of being in the starting XI in England. Khawaja, Harris and Labuschagne may not get to bat again in this Test to press their cases. But Kurtis Patterson (25*) has a gilded chance today to push on with Burns and crack the kind of big score that will make it hard for the selectors to overlook him for the Ashes.

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