Travis Head has hit back at criticism of Australia’s Test team from former players, accusing a past generation of having “put the bullet through” the careers of many cricketers as debate over the squad intensified before the first Test against South Africa in Durban.
Head’s comments followed Matthew Hayden’s fierce criticism of the decision to bring Nic Maddinson into contention at the age of 34. The tourists are yet to finalise their side, with Maddinson, Cooper Connolly and left-arm spinner Matt Kuhnemann all waiting to discover whether they will play.
“I think it’s unfairly judged a fair bit from a group of past players, pretty much that put the bullet through a lot of players, which I think is unfair,” Head said.
“But that’s what they’re paid to do. Some of them need a job, so they go after us, and that’s totally fine.”
Head said the current squad was capable of dealing with the criticism, although he acknowledged the disappointment of hearing it from former players whom Australia’s cricketers respected.
“This group is strong enough to deal with those sorts of things,” he said. “It’s unfortunate sometimes to have some of that feedback from a generation of players that we have huge respect for, but that’s the caper.”
Matthew Hayden criticism prompts response
Hayden questioned the selectors’ approach after Maddinson’s call-up, arguing that Australia was accepting too much from players whose first-class records did not match those of previous generations.
“Where we are at is that we are promoting the greatest pile of mediocrity that we’ve seen in a generation of cricket,” Hayden said on the All Over Bar The Cricket podcast.
“And if we continue to lay that out and expect that a bloke averaging 35 is going to average 55 in Test match cricket, George Bailey and Tony Dodemaide, you are dreaming.”
Head defended the modern domestic game, saying batting averages could not be compared straightforwardly with those from 20 years ago because conditions had changed.
He pointed to Darren Lehmann’s record for South Australia, but said the former Australia batter was an exceptional case and that players were no longer regularly producing the same volume of runs in Sheffield Shield cricket.
“I don’t think it’s down to lack of skill,” Head said. “It’s pretty obvious to see what the wickets were like back then to now.”
The opener also dismissed speculation that he could move down the order after a series of low scores against Bangladesh in August. Head said media discussion could quickly shift from praise to doubt after a single failure.
“Had a great summer, missed out first day in Darwin, and I’m no good at it again,” he said. “That doesn’t bother me the slightest.”
South Africa are expected to bring Anrich Nortje back into their side, with Kagiso Rabada still recovering from a hamstring injury. Simon Harmer said the Kingsmead pitch could assist him and Keshav Maharaj against Australia’s batters.
The hosts are also expecting a strong response from Australia after the tourists’ batting did not meet their own standards during the one-day series. Harmer said Test cricket would present a different challenge as both teams prepared for Friday’s opening day.
Head said Maddinson’s experience could prove valuable, arguing that Australia needed mature players who understood how to prepare and perform consistently.
“You bring in the Mike Husseys of the world who are 30, who have tried and tested and know what they need to do,” he said. “If you know you can have the same person rock up day in, day out with the same attitude, more often than not you get good results.”
