The Ashes 2019: Australia drop Travis Head for fifth Test, David Warner retains place
David Warner survives as Travis Head makes way to accommodate Australia’s need to bulk up their bowling options in final Ashes Test at The Oval after an intense series.
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Travis Head has been dropped for the final Ashes Test at The Oval with Mitchell Marsh set for a recall to cover some of the bowling load.
Australia captain Tim Paine confirmed Head was the only omission with fast bowlers Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood still part of a 12-man squad for the final match.
Embattled opener David Warner has been given one more chance to find a score after a lean series which has yielded just 79 runs.
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James Pattinson missed out on a recall but the express paceman is poised for a “really exciting six months” at home, with Australia keen to unleash the fit-again beast in home conditions.
Australia’s next Test after the Oval is on November 21, against Pakistan at the Gabba.
Jhye Richardson, who made his Test debut earlier this year and would likely have been part of both the World Cup and Ashes squads if not for an untimely dislocated shoulder, is set to add even more depth to the current pace battery.
“Clearly bigger, taller, faster bowlers work really well in Australia. So that’s where we see a really exciting six months for James Pattinson and Mitchell Starc coming up,” Paine said.
“Guys who haven’t played as much during this series, we think our home conditions suit those two really well.
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“We’re going to have them fresh and ready to go for the home summer, which is great”
Paine said the huge bowling workload for the fast bowlers was the reason behind Head’s omission.
“The reason Travis isn’t playing is because we felt like we needed a bit more bowling at the end of a long series,” he said.
“Bringing in Mitchell will ease a bit of the load on the fast bowlers.
“We’ve been really clear with Travis on why he’s not playing this game. He’s had a fantastic start, he’s played nine or 10 Tests and has a very healthy average,” he said.
“He’s a huge part of Australian cricket’s future. He’s a gun young player and getting better all the time.
“We’ll go back to Australia, conditions will be different. There’s no doubt he’s in the top six or seven batsmen in our country.”
Originally published as The Ashes 2019: Australia drop Travis Head for fifth Test, David Warner retains place
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