HEAD IN THE GAME
Rising Aussie bat silences critics with ton
A DETERMINED Travis Head shrugged off accusations of wastefulness to convert a start into a century before Australia’s bowlers rammed home their edge over New Zealand.
Head turned his ninth score above 50 into his second Test century to help Australia to 467 yesterday before the Black Caps reached stumps on day two at the MCG on 2-44.
Recalled quick James Pattinson snared the key scalp of
Kane Williamson, who was caught after skying a pull shot on nine.
Pat Cummins’ seven-over opening spell of 1-8 also netted the wicket of new opener Tom Blundell (15), who was also caught behind by Tim Paine. But the star on day two was Head with his 114.
With his spot in the side in question heading into the Boxing Day Test, the South Australian’s innings was arguably the most crucial of his career.
Accused of being wasteful by Aussie great Ricky Ponting and told to pull his ego back when he left another big score slip in the series opener in Perth, there were no signs of concentration lapses in Melbourne.
Patient throughout, Head spent 49 minutes and 42 balls in the 90s before he brought up three figures by driving Tim Southee through backward point just after tea.
“It was about making sure I was very tight in my defence and waiting for a cut shot or one off my pads,” Head said. “It was a very refined blueprint for me today.”
Head’s first-class conversion rate also stands at turning one-in-five 50s to hundreds.
But he says it’s something he’s improved on ahead of his 26th birthday tomorrow.
“Over the last couple of years as I have matured I have been able to get more hundreds,” he said.
“When I was younger I used to try to get through the 90s quicker than I should have.
Over time you get more mature and you relax.
“I was happy to do it in ones or if I got an opportunity hit a four. I was happy to nudge my way there. I probably took a bit longer than I thought.”
The ton should go a long way to locking his spot down long-term, after being axed for the last Test of the Ashes this year and having pressure mount this summer.
He moved his feet well and cut with great control throughout, as part of a 150-run stand with Paine for the sixth wicket that put Australia on top. Paine’s up-tempo 79 should also end any questions over his shortterm future, as he pulled powerfully and drove with precision.
It was his highest Test score in nine years, before he was out lbw to Neil Wagner after a successful review by Williamson.
His innings also drove New Zealand into the ground after they had threatened to open the door back into the match when Smith (85) was out.
10. Women in charge
THE Australian women’s team cemented their dominance in the Old Dart with a commanding, multi-format Ashes series victory.
Ellyse Perry reinforced her billing as one of the game’s brightest stars, carving out a crucial century in the first innings of the only Test of the series.
She backed it up with 76 in the second innings as the Australian juggernaut steamrolled the English.
Perry finished as the highest run-scorer of the series, while Meg Lanning and Alyssa Healy were more than capable foils in plundering 359 and 266 runs respectively.
Lanning stole headlines with an unbeaten 133-run masterclass at Chelmsford, blasting the then-highest score in a women’s T20 international off just 63 balls, which helped seal the Ashes win.
9. King Kohli reigns
VIRAT, well, he just kept being Virat.
Arguably the world’s best batsman, and a man destined to go down as one of the greatest to have played the game, King Kohli did nothing to harm his reputation in 2019.
He cracked more than 600 Test runs at an average of more than 68, including an unbeaten 254, and also tallied more than 1200 one-day international runs at a clip over 61 and a strike rate of more than 95.
It was enough to have him finish the year on top of the ICC’s Test and ODI batting rankings.
The 31-year-old star also snuck into the top 10 of the ICC T20 batting rankings, after smashing 466 runs at more than 77 in 10 internationals.
8. Healy goes big
NOT satisfied with winning fans through her humour and brilliance with the roving microphone on the field, Alyssa Healy put on a one-woman firework show to cement her status as one of the modern game’s true entertainers.
The quick-witted opener carried her bat during a T20 international against Sri Lanka in October to eclipse teammate Meg Lanning’s former record score.
The innings was brutal, as Healy blasted 148 off just 61 balls at North Sydney Oval to lift the Aussies to a huge 2-226 – equalling the highest score by the women’s team.
Healy reached the world record with a six, taking her past the former mark of 133 set by Lanning just two months earlier during the Ashes.
7. Spotlight on health
AS the stigma surrounding mental health issues diminishes, their prevalence continues to be thrust further into the spotlight.
That was never more evident than in 2019, when three stars of Australian cricket – Glenn Maxwell, Will Pucovski and Nic Maddinson – stepped away from the game in order to focus on their mental health.
All three took time away from the sport in November to deal with ongoing issues, prompting an outcry of support from the public.
Former Test captain Mark Taylor said he believed mental health would become a growing issue for not just cricket, but all elite sport in future, and it was vital that players could find time away from the game, and back in their community, to maintain their mental health.
Cricket Australia and the Australian Cricketers’ Association rolled out “Game plan”, a wellbeing and education program, in June in a bid to tackling issues related to mental health.
6. Test cricket returns
IT was a regulation wicket that fell.
Sri Lanka captain Dimuth Karunaratene, trapped leg before wicket by Shaheen Shah Afridi for 59.
However, it was anything but a regular occurrence.
It was the first Test wicket to fall on Pakistan soil for more than a decade.
Ten years and nine months after the Lahore terror attack on the Sri Lankan team’s bus and convoy killed six policemen and two members of the public, and left a reserve umpire and seven Sri Lankan players wounded, Test cricket had returned to the much-maligned nation.
The Sri Lankans played two one-dayers and three T20s in Pakistan prior to the Test in December, but with muchweakened sides after 10 players stayed home for fear of their safety.
5. Smith stars
SEAMING English decks, a dismal World Cup result, a ruthless Barmy Army honing in on wounds still healing from the sandpaper scandal, coupled with a rampaging Jimmy Anderson, a fierce Jofra Archer, and Stuart Broad terrorising
the lefties – the Aussies were meant to be no chance.
But when Jimmy went down four overs into the first Test, suddenly the dream for Australia was not so distant.
Steve Smith was on another planet at Edgbaston, and all the Test venues, after recovering from being felled by Archer at Lord’s to plunder 774 runs for the series.
Pat Cummins was superb, and given excellent support by Nathan Lyon and Josh Hazle
wood, as Australia retained the Ashes with a 2-2 drawn series.
Not bad considering they called upon Mitchell Starc for only one Test, although a star was unearthed.
4. Marnus rises
THAT unearthed star was Marnus Labuschagne.
Lasagne, loose bus change – it doesn’t matter how you pronounce Labuschagne, his talent speaks for itself.
The super sub who came in after superstar Steve Smith was
felled during a venom- ous Jofra Archer spell at Lord’s, Labuschagne stood tall against the barrage and literally batted his way into a Test spot for years to come.
The return home from England has been just as impressive, with Labuschagne belting more than 530 runs in Australia’s past three Tests.
Throw in his more than handy leg spin, his age – only 25 – and his energy, and we might be looking at Australia’s No.3 for the next decade.
He’s just been called up to the one-day international squad too, as his star rapidly rises.
3. Cornwall rips it
ONE of the great things about the sport of cricket is it still has a place for the larger player.
If your eye is good, or your spin prodigious, you can find yourself becoming a national hero.
The latest cult hero, West Indies big man Rahkeem Cornwall, showed he was more than just the world’s heaviest cricketer as he skittled the AfghaniSmith’s stan line-up. The 140kg, 196cm-tall 26-year-old destroyed the Afghan line-up, with his 7-75 the best figures for a West Indies spinner in nearly 50 years.
The off-spinner was able to produce plenty of bounce, thanks to his height advantage, which caused headaches for the Afghan batsmen.
2. Back in action
THE eyes of the cricketing world were fixed on Steve Smith and Dave Warner when they returned after serving
their bans for their roles in the Cape Town ball-tampering scandal.
Warner was lucky to retain his place in the side after a torrid Ashes series where Stuart Broad tormented him.
A measly return of just 95 runs for the series had plenty declaring Warner finished, at least in away Tests, but those memories were erased by a fruitful home summer highlighted by an unbeaten 335 against Pakistan in Adelaide.
774 runs in the Ashes erased any doubt about his importance to the team, or his star quality.
Cameron Bancroft’s return was less spectacular.
He finds himself in a battle to re-establish himself in the national team.
1. World Cup thriller
TWO teams that Aussies hate losing to battled it out for the World Cup.
It was a nightmare scenario, but for the neutral sports lover the World Cup final was all gold – delivering arguably the most dramatic finish ever witnessed at an international game.
The England v New Zealand finale at Lord’s deserves a book all to itself. It had everything.
It was mayhem – a catch that became a six, madness with an overthrow deflecting off the bat for a crucial four, and scores tied after both sides had batted out 50 overs each.
A super over followed, and England racked up a morethan-competitive 15 runs off their six balls.
New Zealand’s Jimmy Neesham stroked 13 off five deliveries, before a run-out levelled the scores again at the end of the super over.
Cue the wild celebrations, and confusion. Fans were left scrambling for the rule book as England celebrated – prevailing on a boundary countback, with their 24 fours and two sixes trumping the 14 fours and three sixes scored by the Kiwis.
Heartbreaking. Dramatic. Controversial. Bizarre. It was all of those and more.
The result even forced the International Cricket Council into a rule change.