Travis Head
Travis Michael Head (born 29 December 1993) is an Australian international cricketer who represents the Australia national cricket team in all formats and is the current Test vice-captain. A left-handed batter and part-time right arm off-spin bowler, Head is contracted to South Australia and the Adelaide Strikers for domestic matches at the state level, and the Big Bash League respectively. Head has served as both a co-vice-captain and vice-captain in Tests in multiple stints. He captained Australia in T20Is and served as vice-captain in ODIs in 2024.
Head was a key member of the Australian team that won the 2023 ICC World Test Championship final and 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup final, having been adjudged Player of the Match in both finals. He also became the second player ever to score a century when batting second in a World Cup final. He became the first player to score centuries in two consecutive ICC tournament finals in the same calendar year.
Early career (2011–2014)
Hailing from Craigmore in the northern suburbs of Adelaide, Head played at underage levels for the Craigmore Cricket Club and Trinity College. Head represented South Australia at both.
He played at under-17 and under-19 level, making his debut in the National Under-19 Championships at the age of 17. After making his name playing grade cricket for Tea Tree Gully Cricket Club, Head made his first-class cricket debut for South Australia in the Sheffield Shield at the age of 18 in early 2012. He made a promising start to his career with three matches for South Australia, scoring his maiden half-century in his second match and falling short of scoring his maiden century in his third match with 90 runs against Tasmania.
He was rewarded at the end of the season with a rookie contract with South Australia. Head went on to play 18 under-19 One Day International (ODI) matches for the Australian national team, including at the 2012 Under-19 Cricket World Cup.
He impressed with both bat and ball during the tournament, scoring 87 off 42 balls against Scotland and taking three wickets against Bangladesh in the quarter-final. He showed leadership qualities when he captained South Australia to victory in the 2012–13 National Under-19 Championships, being named Player of the Championship for the second consecutive year. Head remained a regular selection for the 2012–13 season, usually batting in the middle order.
He scored a maiden century with 95 against Western Australia. Though he was not dismissed, he ran out of batting partners and was stranded at the crease five runs short of the milestone. He subsequently played a single Twenty20 game for the Adelaide Strikers in the Big Bash League, replacing the injured Kieron Pollard in the team.
Shortly after South Australia’s Shield win against Victoria in January 2013, he was hit by a car outside a hotel in Adelaide, receiving injuries to his head and back, but he made a full recovery and was able to return for South Australia’s next match.
Head was one of six young Australian players to be part of the inaugural Ageas Bowl International Cricket Academy during the 2013 season, training at the ground’s facilities.
In the early part of Head’s career, he struggled to reach his maiden first-class century, instead finishing with scores in the nineties on multiple occasions. After his score of 90 in his debut season and his unbeaten 95 against Western Australia in 2012, he made it to the nineties three times in the 2013–14 Sheffield Shield season, against Western Australia twice more and once against Tasmania with scores of 92, 98, and 98 respectively.
Despite this, he was able to score a List A century for the National Performance Squad against South Africa A in July 2014.
South Australian captaincy and international career (2015–present)
Limited-overs debut (2015–2016)
List A cricket (2021)
In October 2021, Head made his second double century (230 off 127 deliveries), against Queensland in Adelaide, becoming the third batsman to score more than one double century in List A cricket.
Test cricket (2018–present)
In April 2018, Head was awarded a national contract by Cricket Australia for the 2018–19 season. In September 2018, he was named in Australia’s Test squad for their series against Pakistan. He made his Test debut for Australia against Pakistan on 7 October 2018. He had his baggy green cap presented to him by Nathan Lyon.
In July 2019, Head was named in Australia’s squad for the 2019 Ashes series in England. In November 2019, Head played against Pakistan in Australia, although he only batted once in the series. In December 2019, he was named in Australia’s squad for the Test Series against New Zealand. He made a century (114) and was named player of the match in the second Test. On 16 July 2020, Head was named in a 26-man preliminary squad of players to begin training ahead of a possible tour to England following the COVID-19 pandemic.
In November 2020, despite being named in a 17-man squad for the Test series against India, Head was demoted as Australia’s Test co-vice-captain, with Pat Cummins to solely deputise Tim Paine.
Head was included in the squad for the 2021–22 Ashes. In the first Test at The Gabba, he made his third century (152) and was named player of the match. Head was ruled out of the fourth Test in Sydney after testing positive for COVID-19. He returned for the fifth Test in Hobart, where he made another century (101). He was named player of the match and was also awarded the Compton–Miller Medal for player of the series.
Head was included in the Australian squad for the series against the West Indies in 2022-23. In the first Test in Perth, he scored 99, putting on 196 runs for the fourth wicket with Steve Smith in the first innings. He took two wickets in the second innings, as Australia won by 164 runs.
In the second Test in Adelaide, Head scored a career-best 175 in the first innings, putting on 297 runs for the fourth wicket with Marnus Labuschagne. He won the player of the match award. He was included in the Australian squad for the home series against South Africa in 2022–23.
In the first Test, Head top-scored for Australia with 92 in the first innings, and he was named player of the match. He also completed 2000 runs in Tests. In the same week, Head moved to number four in the ICC rankings for Test batting.
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2023 Cricket World Cup
Head was named in the Australian squad for the 2023 Cricket World Cup, but did not play in the tournament until Australia’s match against New Zealand on 28 October, as he continued to recover from his injury. He scored his fourth ODI century (109 off 67 balls) in his first World Cup match and won the player of the match award. His all-round performance in the semi-final helped Australia beat South Africa by 3 wickets in a close encounter and secured Australia’s place in the final. He took 2 important wickets and scored 62 runs off 48 balls in the semi-final. He was declared player of the match.
In the final against India, he became the seventh batsman to score a century in a Cricket World Cup Final (137) and was the player of the match, as Australia won by six wickets to lift its sixth World Cup title after chasing down the target of 241. He also became only the second player to score a century in a World Cup final during a run chase after Sri Lanka’s Aravinda de Silva. He eventually became the third Australian after Ricky Ponting and Adam Gilchrist to score a century in a World Cup final and the only Australian to do so in a run chase batting second.
His innings of 137 also turned out to be the highest individual score in a World Cup final when batting second (while chasing), surpassing the previous record of 107 not out held by Aravinda de Silva. He also became the first and only player to score two centuries in men’s ICC tournament finals, with both centuries coming in a single calendar year (2023 WTC final and 2023 Cricket World Cup).
Indian Premier League
For the 2016 and 2017 Indian Premier League seasons, Head played for Royal Challengers Bangalore. Head played for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the 2024 season. He started the tournament with a 24-ball 62 against Mumbai Indians. On 15 April 2024, he scored a match-winning 102 from 41 balls against Royal Challengers Bengaluru. Throughout the tournament, he and Abhishek Sharma gave good starts to the team, helping them qualify for the final. He finished the tournament as the leading run-scorer of Sunrisers Hyderabad with 567 runs.
Head was retained by the franchise for the 2025 IPL.[157]
Achievements
- Australian Domestic Player of the Year: 2022
- Allan Border Medalist: 2025
- ICC Men’s T20I Team of the Year: 2024
- ICC Men’s ODI Team of the Year: 2022, 2023
- ICC Men’s Test Team of the Year: 2023
- ICC Men’s Player of the Month: November 2023
- Sheffield Shield Player of the Year: 2015-16
Personal life
Head married Jessica Davies in April 2023. Their first child, a daughter, was born in September 2022.The couple’s second child, a son, was born in November 2024.
Head is a supporter of the Port Adelaide Football Club in the Australian Football League.
