No stranger to batting under pressure, a relaxed Travis Head is confident of stepping up in his final chance to secure a Test recall.
Australia A’s Test batting hopefuls will likely only get one bite at the cherry after Pakistan batted through the opening day of their three-day tour match in Perth.
A declaration is likely to come early on day two after Babar Azam (157no) and Asad Shafiq (119no) lifted the tourists to 3-336 at stumps in the day-night match.
Head was Australia’s vice-captain during the Ashes but that didn’t spare him from being axed for the deciding fifth Test at The Oval.
The left-hander’s century against a Josh Hazlewood-led NSW attack in the last Sheffield Shield round has put him in the box seat to edge out talented youngster Will Pucovski for the middle-order vacancy in Australia’s Test side.
Head’s ability to keep his cool in pressure situations was evident when he made his Test debut against Pakistan last year in Dubai, where a depleted Australia pulled off a miraculous draw while chasing a monster target of 462.
A crushing defeat had appeared inevitable when Australia crumbled to 3-87, losing all three of Aaron Finch, Shaun Marsh and Mitch Marsh without adding a run.
But a calm and collected Head combined with Usman Khawaja in a pivotal fourth-wicket partnership to help save Australia from defeat.
“Different pressures, different times you have to bat under different circumstances, that’s why you play the game,” Head told reporters after stumps on Monday.
“You want to do well on these sort of days and these sort of games.
“I’m pretty relaxed at the minute. I think everyone’s done the work – we trained exceptionally well yesterday and all the batters got what they needed.
“The pressure of tomorrow is no different than the pressure of a Test match or the pressure of anytime you need to go out and get runs.”
National coach Justin Langer and chief selector Trevor Hohns will sit down on Wednesday to pick their squad for the first Test, with Khawaja, Marcus Harris and Joe Burns competing to open the batting alongside David Warner.
The Adelaide Oval was clearly a road, the wickets are a joke around the country
Damo
Guest
Well, literally everyone has failed in the tour match today.
McBumble
Guest
The XI will likley be: Warner Harris - not a guy who can bat all day like Burns Lasagne - what a legend Smith Head - next captain; will get picked regardless of form Wade - old man river Paine Cummins Starc - take it or leave it Hazo Lyon - joe bald XII: Pucovski This is an XI that can win vs minnows in AUS but will be plundered overseas. Selectors: start picking young guys for tomorrow. Guys like Stoinis should not be in the equation.....ever. Also if our spin future is Zampa, then we might as well just pick pace lads. 1st test v PAK: AUS 205 PAK 397 AUS 104 PAK win by inns.
Rissole
Roar Rookie
Unlikely given WA's fondness for a collapse.
AREH
Roar Guru
A score in the tour match and he's there, surely? I just wonder too if Stoinis scores substantially in this match v NSW...you never know the way it may go
JohnB
Guest
And SA lose 3 wickets in the first 20 minutes of day 2 just to tell me to nick off.
Johnb
Guest
The scorecards yesterday create a sense of foreboding for the Test season ahead - lifeless drop-ins at 3 venues, another season of turgid low slow nothings in Sydney and even the Gabba in the last game there seemed to become very easy to stay in on, once the ball got older.state of the pitches. Maybe the ball being used deserves some criticism as it seems to turn lifeless after 20 overs or so. Maybe of course it's just that everyone played really well in Perth and Adelaide, and that Steve Smith wanted to tune up for the season ahead by batting most of the day at a 30 strikerate. Maybe all will be well - but haven't we had enough Tests on featherbed pitches in the past couple of years? The conditions must be very difficult for groundsmen around the country but please please do what you can to produce pitches encouraging a contest between bat and ball. If you don't it will frankly matter little who gets picked in the Australian side - they'll all make runs.
Paul
Roar Guru
This is the tired old lineup with the best batsman in the world at 4, Labuschagne at 3 who just batted really well in England, Warner who can do anything when on song, all led by a captain who managed the team well enough 3 months ago, to come away with the Ashes. I guess India would play the same tired old lineup as well, after all, these are the players that took them to the top of Test cricket.
Pedro The Fisherman
Roar Rookie
So if Burns and Pucovski don't play (and I suspect that they won't as Harris and Head are more likely) then it will not be '...the same tired old lineup'?
McBumble
Guest
warner burns lasagne smithy pucovski wade paine cummins starc hazelwood lyon except for the bowlers it is the same tired old lineup. e.g. warner the T20 pounder to go cheap into the pakistani slips cordon