Travis Head

Since Michael Hussey's retirement, Australia have struggled to find a reliable middle order batsman who can both anchor and finish an innings. There have been a few who have auditioned for the spot, some with brief success as well but the consistency hasn't been there for a longer duration. Travis Head is touted to be capable of being that man and there is a feeling that he can emerge as one of the country's finest middle-order batsmen in limited-overs cricket. His ticket to international fame in the 2015-16 BBL season when he smoked a century to take the Adelaide Strikers to a victory from out of nowhere against the Sydney Sixers. An international debut followed within weeks as he was picked for the T20I series against India at home.

Head wasn't picked for the 2016 World T20 but since then, managed to be in the selectors' plans. In 50-overs cricket, Head started to become a vital cog of the Australian side. He has donned multiple roles with the bat - mostly batting in the middle order but also opened the innings in early 2017 as a part of the management's plan for the Champions Trophy that was to be held later that year. His debut as an opener saw him cracking a century and also being involved in a historical opening stand with David Warner who also got past the three-figure mark. That experiment didn't last long though and Head started getting back to his middle order routine, used mostly as a floater. Head however lost out on batting form in the 50-over format and was ignored for the 2019 WC as others in the form of Shaun Marsh and Marcus Stoinis were preferred over him.

But the ball tampering saga opened the doors of Test cricket for the southpaw. He was picked for the tour to the UAE and featured in the couple of Tests. He started off with a duck in his maiden innings but got things back on track in the second innings by scoring a fifty and also playing a pivotal role in ensuring Australia drew that Test in Dubai.