Travis Head hammers his second Test century against West Indies
Dashing Australian batter Travis Head brought up his second Test hundred against West Indies. He accomplished the milestone on Day 2 of the ongoing Test series opener in Adelaide. Notably, the southpaw was short of runs heading into this game. Meanwhile, this was overall his seventh ton in the format as it came amid tough circumstances. Here are his stats.
A stunning knock from Head
Responding to WI's first innings total of 188, Australia were 67/3 when Head arrived in the middle. He added 46 runs with Usman Khawaja (45), taking the Aussies past the 100-run mark. Head then paired up with the lower-order batters and put his side into the lead. He eventually fell prey to Alzarri Joseph after scoring a 134-ball 119 (12 fours, 3 maximums).
3,000 Test runs for Head
With his 15th run, Head completed 3,000 Test runs. Playing his 46th Test, Head has raced to 3,104 runs with his average being 44.34. While this was his seventh Test ton, he also owns 16 fifties. His highest score in Test cricket of 175 came against West Indies in 2022 in Adelaide. Overall, he has completed 431 runs against WI, averaging 143.66 (50s: 1).
First 50-plus score since the 2023 WC
This was a much-needed ton for Head as he crossed the 50-run mark for the first time since his match-wining 137 against India in the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup final in November. While he scored 35, 31, and 28 in the T20I series against India, his scores in the preceding home Test series against Pakistan read 40, 14, 17, 0, and 10.
How has the match panned out?
Australia bowled the Windies out for 188 in the first innings with Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood taking four-fers. Kirk McKenzie scored 50. In reply, the Aussies also lost wickets at regular intervals and were reduced to 129/5. However, Head rescued them with a fine century. Opener Usman Khawaja also contributed with 45 to push Australia into the lead.
