Head cleared for Boxing Day Test against India
Australian batsman Travis Head has been declared fit for the Boxing Day Test against India, delivering a major boost to the team. The announcement came on Wednesday, with captain Pat Cummins also confirming Scott Boland as the replacement for injured pacer Josh Hazlewood.
Head, the leading run-scorer in the five-match series, had sustained a minor thigh strain during the Gabba Test, raising concerns about his fitness. However, Cummins assured reporters that Head had passed all necessary fitness checks and was ready to take the field.
“Trav is good to go, so he will play,” said Cummins. “He just ticked off some final things today and yesterday. No stress, no worries about injury for Trav, so he will go into the game fully fit. I don’t think you’ll see too much management of him through the game. Maybe around fielding if he’s a bit uncomfortable, but he’s fully fit.”
Head has been in imperious form, scoring 409 runs at an average of 81.80 across the first three Tests, including centuries in Adelaide and Brisbane. His aggressive batting has been a standout for Australia, particularly against India’s pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah.
“It feels like the last 12 months he’s been in this unbelievable vein of form, and he just keeps going,” Cummins said of Head. “He’s hitting the ball really cleanly, and you can see the pressure he shifts back onto the opposition, literally from the first ball he walks out there. I’m loving that he is in our team. Long may it continue.”
The series, currently locked at 1-1, enters its fourth Test after India’s dominant 295-run victory in Perth, Australia’s resounding 10-wicket win in Adelaide, and a rain-affected draw in Brisbane.
Boland and Konstas Confirmed in Lineup
Cummins also confirmed two changes to the Australian XI. As expected, seamer Scott Boland comes in for the injured Hazlewood, while 19-year-old opener Sam Konstas will make his Test debut, replacing Nathan McSweeney.
Konstas, the youngest Australian Test debutant since Cummins debuted at 18 against South Africa in 2011, has already impressed during the build-up to the game.
Reflecting on his own debut experience, Cummins said, “I just remember being really excited, and it’s similar for Sammy this week. There’s a level of naivety that you just want to go out and play, like you do when you were a kid in the backyard. You just want to take the game on and have fun and not overthink it. That’s the message to Sam.”
Australia XI:
Usman Khawaja, Sam Konstas, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Mitch Marsh, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins (capt), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Scott Boland
(Source: AFP)
