Australian batsman Travis Head made a strong case for selection for the opening Champions Trophy game with an unbeaten 85 in their win over Sri Lanka in a warm-up match at the Oval on Friday.
Head put on a 75-run partnership for the fourth wicket with Aaron Finch, who made a brilliant 137 as Australia chased down Sri Lanka’s 318 with two balls to spare.
“It was a good hit out, probably a tighter game than we wanted it to be,” said Head after the game.
“They dug in pretty well in the end and posted 300, and chasing down, I thought we did beautifully. Finchy at the top of the order was fantastic. To bring it home it was a nice team performance.”
“We just had a really nice game plan, we try to spot every ball and try not to leave it right to the end — ended up working out that time — but I feel it was pretty controlled. In parts, it probably wasn’t as controlled as others, but it’s not going to be clean sailing in run chases,” he added.
Assessing his own performance, which also included tidy bowling figures of 1 for 13 in three overs, Head said, “I want to win games of cricket, one way or the other, so pleasing to go out there and get a few runs and some time out in the middle.”
Being the current World Cup champion has made Australia one of the favourite to win the title in England and Wales, and Head believes the side’s experience at the ICC Cricket World Cup will benefit it in the coming few weeks.
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