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Travis Head insists there is more to his rampant one-day batting style than simply death-or-glory hitting, but won\u2019t hesitate to start swinging should the circumstances demand in the World Cup semi-final against South Africa.<\/p>\n
As the Australians prepare to face the Proteas on Thursday \u2013 albeit with one eye on the skies, as forecast torrential rain threatens to disrupt the clash \u2013 Head insisted there was a \u201cbalance\u201d to his batting.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just making sure I try and get that right,\u201d said Head, who missed the first five games of the tournament with a broken hand. \u201cIt was nice to contribute in the first game, and it\u2019s been a bit lean in the last couple.\u201d<\/p>\n
Head\u2019s first game of the tournament was a must-win tie against New Zealand, after Australia had lost their first two matches and won their next three to keep their finals hopes alive. A brutal display of power hitting by Head, who made 109 from 67 balls, helped Australia to a five-run win and inspired memorable knocks from Glenn Maxwell (201 not out) and Mitchell Marsh (177 not out) in the following two games as Australia charged towards the finals.<\/p>\n
But since his triumphant return, Head\u2019s past three matches have netted a total of just 21 runs with a top score of 11.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like I try and give myself the best chance to score off balls that I feel like I can and respect the ones in between,\u201d he said. \u201cI think you have to do that. It\u2019s international cricket, so I don\u2019t think it\u2019s all guns blazing every time.<\/p>\n
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Australia\u2019s Travis Head was on fire against New Zealand in Dharamshala.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>AP<\/cite><\/p>\n \u201cYou hope you\u2019re in good positions to score and put the bowlers under pressure, but if they bowl well you\u2019ve got to be able to get through it. So it\u2019s definitely a balancing act. I feel like I\u2019m in a good mindset to give myself the best chance to be as positive as I can be.\u201d<\/p>\n While Head has a reputation of being susceptible to the short ball, he does not believe South Africa\u2019s high-quality pace attack will specifically target him. Nor is he concerned that it was Gerald Coetzee who broke the batsman\u2019s hand when Head attempted a pull shot off a delivery bowled at him during a one-day series in South Africa two months ago.<\/p>\n \u201cI said to Gerald at the time I\u2019m sure he didn\u2019t mean to hit me in the hand. It was probably aimed a little bit higher than that,\u201d Head joked. \u201cBut that\u2019s all part of the game. So I take a relaxed approach to all that sort of stuff whether it\u2019s performance or injuries.<\/p>\n \u201cHe did me a favour, I got four weeks at home with the family, so I got refreshed to come back. And hopefully I can be refreshed and energised and can perform at the back end of the tournament. It might be a blessing in disguise.\u201d<\/p>\n Travis Head after being dismissed against Afghanistan.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Getty<\/cite><\/p>\n While they must overcome South Africa and a dodgy weather forecast, Head believes the Australians are primed for a charge towards their sixth World Cup title.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m sure everyone has thought about that,\u201d Head said. \u201cIt hasn\u2019t really been spoken about as a group, but we know what\u2019s at the end of this tournament and what\u2019s up for grabs.\u201d<\/p>\n He pointed out that Australia\u2019s World Cup campaign really began in August.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve been on tour for so long,\u201d Head said. \u201cIn South Africa we played a T20 series and a one-day series, then a one-day series against India when we got here and a couple of warm-up games. The boys have been invested for a long time so if we\u2019re going to spend that much time here we might as well try and go the whole way. So that\u2019s been the motivation that we\u2019ve got this far.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019ve got to make the semis to give yourself a chance and if we do things right in a couple of days\u2019 time we find ourselves in a final. That\u2019s in the future, but geez, we\u2019ve put in a lot of hard work over the last couple of months to get to this stage, so we want to make the most of it.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n