Ashes: Warner, Head put Australia in command on Day 2

As the shadows lengthened at the Gabba in Brisbane on Thursday evening, an unintentional beamer from England pacer Mark Wood, operating with the second new ball, hurtled towards Travis Head's head. Given the searing pace Wood generates, the Aussie left-hander had little time to react. The ball ricocheted off Head's glove, held high on the chest, and slammed into his chin, dropping him like a man at the receiving end of a heavyweight's uppercut. For a fleeting second as he crumpled, those watching may have felt fear. But Head was up on his feet soon after, even as a worried Wood rushed to him and put an arm on his shoulder.

It was emblematic of Head's combative, aggressive display on the pitch, on a day when he slammed the joint-third-fastest century in Ashes history. He had reached the three-figure mark off 85 balls in just the over before the blow, crunching a delectable on-drive to bring up his third ton in Test cricket. Such a breathtaking innings might have been considered par for the course had it come from the blade of an Aussie left-hander who bats at the top of the order. David Warner, though, was far more subdued and grafted his way to an admittedly fortuitous 94 to set the platform for Australia on the second day. The hosts were 343/7 with a lead of 196 runs by the time stumps were called with Head unbeaten on 112 off 95 balls.

At the end of the day’s play, Warner seemed more chuffed for his younger teammate than his own effort. Even if the senior pro himself had a personal battle to surmount, having returned a sum total of just 95 runs from five Tests at an average of 9.5 against the Englishmen in the 2019 Ashes.

“What an entertaining innings by Travis. We’ve got smiles on our faces. It’s got to be up there for him personally. It was a tight battle with him and Uzzie (Usman Khawaja) but to come out the way he did... that’s the Travis Head we know,” Warner told Fox Sports later.

As Warner alluded, the biggest selection call for the Australian think-tank to mull over before the series had been the No.5 slot. Head and Usman Khawaja were the two contenders. Khawaja, who turns 35 soon, has more experience and is well-versed with the conditions in Brisbane—he plays first-class cricket for Queensland—but new skipper Pat Cummins gave precedence to the promise that a 27-year-old Head offered of a long-term future in the Test set-up.

Australia had invested in that promise for 19 Tests without considerable returns, his average hovering below 40 with merely two centuries in 31 innings. It resulted in Australia being forced to act after their defeat in the Boxing Day Test against India last year following his scores of 7, 38 and 17. Worryingly, Head’s travails seemed symbolic of a deeper malaise in the Australian system with not enough young batters making a case for selection.

But an impressive start to his domestic season with South Australia (394 runs in five games at 49.25) enabled Head to return to the front of the queue this summer. And on Thursday, he vindicated that faith in sterling fashion. Warner and Marnus Labuschagne (74) had succeeded in laying a solid foundation with a stand of 156 for the second wicket, but by the time Head was looking to hit his stride, the visitors had staged a mini-fightback. Four wickets had fallen for 29 runs and Australia were 195/5, the lead stretching to just 48 runs. Another one or two wickets at that juncture and England would have still been harbouring hopes of a stirring comeback.

The middle-order batter, though, didn’t allow England to even get a toe in the door. After a scratchy beginning, three boundaries in the 62nd over were enough for Head to find the sweet spot of his bat. A couple of those were freebies from an off-colour Ben Stokes, short and begging to be dispatched. That little burst took Head to 22 off 25 balls, and he just did not decelerate thereon.

Head’s 85-ball ton was also the fastest ever at the Gabba while his 112 runs in the final session were the most in a single session since Australia’s Stan McCabe scored 127 against England in Nottingham in 1938.

These overwhelming numbers, and not the Wood beamer, has left Head in a daze. “I’m still pinching myself,” he said after the day’s play. "I can’t quite work out what transpired over the last couple of hours. I think I said to (Mitchell) Starc (batting partner) that I couldn’t quite believe what was going on.”

By the time he resumes his innings on Friday morning, he will realize that he has put Australia in prime position to take a 1-0 series lead.