Stand-in captain Steve Smith has revealed the leadership group were tossing up whether to throw Nathan Lyon out to open instead of Travis Head, and Isa Guha pointed out what could have been if this came to fruition. Head turned the first Test match in Perth against England when he strode out to bat in place of the injured Usman Khawaja with Australia needing 209 to win.
And Head scored the equal-sixth fastest for an Australian at Test level and the fastest ever fourth innings century to leave Ben Stokes’ side shellshocked. Head finished on 123 and took the game away from England to hand Australia a 1-0 lead in the Ashes series.
Isa Guha (R) has hinted what would have been if Steve Smith (L) and the leadership group had actually sent Nathan Lyon out to bat instead of Travis Head. (Images: Fox League/Getty)
After the Test, Smith revealed Head put his name forward to open for Australia when they were tossing up candidates. “That was honestly one of the most incredible innings I’ve ever witnessed,” Smith said on TNT Sports.
“He was just unbelievable from ball one. We came in from the tea break and we were tossing up who we should open the batting with. And Head is like, ‘Oh, I think I should do it’. I said, ‘Go for your life, mate, have fun,'” Smith said.
But it was later revealed offsipnner Lyon was in contention to make the walk alongside teammate Jake Weatherald. Smith said the leadership group did consider Lyon to open, as he has done it before as a night watchman.
“Nathan Lyon was actually talked about to be honest,” Smith admitted when talking about the other names thrown out there. “But yeah, I think we made the right decision in the end. Trav, that was just incredible to witness.”
And former England cricketer, turned commentator, Guha took to social media to suggest what could have been for England if Lyon had walked out instead of Head. This would have seen a completely different approach with Lyon most likely attempting to see out the new ball, instead of Head taking it on.
Lyon also made the walk to open the session on day two, alongside Brendan Doggett, with Australia starting at nine down in their first innings. The decision to not open with Marnus Labuschagne was a deliberate tactic from the Aussies after the first innings debacle.
Steve Smith lifts lid on Travis Head game plan
In Australia’s first innings, Khawaja was not permitted to open alongside debutant Weatherald because he spent too long off the field before the final wicket of England’s session because he was dealing with back stiffness. Khawaja essentially had to serve a ‘time penalty’, per ICC rules, before making his way to the crease.
This prompted the Aussies to open with Labuschagne, alongside Weatherald. Smith was then forced to come in at first-drop after Weatherald was dismissed cheaply. And the stand-in captain felt they didn’t want a repeat of this debacle having suggested the re-shuffle disrupted the team’s flow.
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Smith later added: “We didn’t like how things functioned in the first innings with Marn(us Labsucahgne) going up top, and me batting three. So Trav took it on and played one of the great Ashes knocks.”
Head also acknowledged he wanted to take the first ball of the innings to allow debutant Jake Weatherald to settle in after being tormented by Jofra Archer in the first innings. “I was never letting him face the first over…I thought Weathers played beautifully today,” Head said after the match.
Australia’s decision to send out Travis Head (pictured) to open proved the right call after he made a century.
Will Nathan Lyon play the day-night Test?
Unfortunately for Lyon, he could be considered surplus to requirements for the day-night Test at the Gabba. Lyon only bowled a handful of overs in Perth with the quicks dominating the contest. Last year, Lyon hardly bowled in the day-night Test in Adelaide with quicks once again taking the vast majority of wickets.
While Lyon has done nothing wrong, the pitches are lending themselves to the quicks. Lyon was already dropped for the third Test against the West Indies earlier this year, which marked the first time since 2013 he had been left out of the XI. And Australia could look to bring in Beau Webster for the contest if they feel an allrounder will be more useful than an offspinner in the Test, which was dominated by the quicks last year.