Travis Head misses training but still expected to play the West Indies in second Test

Travis Head was absent from an Australian training session he was due to complete, plus the latest on Usman Khawaja after his blow to the head in the first Test against the West Indies.

Travis Head was a conspicuous absentee from Australian training under the Gabba lights on Tuesday night but he is still expected to face the West Indies in the second Test starting on Thursday.

The South Australian had been due to train with the Australians in their main session two days out from the first Test but was pulled from the session as a precaution as he recovers from Covid-19.

However the Australian camp insisted he would train on Wednesday instead and would be right to confront the Windies.

The left-hander starred in the first Test in Adelaide, making 119 in Australia’s 10-wicket win.

There appears to be no concerns over the fitness of Usman Khawaja though, who trained after copping a blow to the head batting in Australia’s second innings last Friday.

One-day spinner Adam Zampa was a surprise addition at Aussie training. But he is not an addition to the squad for the pink-ball Test, instead warming up for Australia’s white-ball series next month.

Australian captain Pat Cummins had indicated earlier on Tuesday that Head was set to play even if he was still testing positive for the virus.

Travis Head is still on track to play the Gabba Test. Picture: Getty Images

“Think he’s almost out of it. He’s fine, feeling good,” Cummins said.

“Think he’ll train tonight. Obviously, even if he’s still positive he can still play, there’ll just be a few protocols. But think he’s pretty close to a negative.”

Matt Renshaw, who is on standby as a spare batter, played a Test against South Africa last January despite a positive Covid-19 test.

The Aussies are set to go in unchanged against the Windies with pace trio Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Cummins having their workload eased by a string of early Test finishes this summer including a seven-session affair at Adelaide Oval.

Cummins said he didn’t have a huge issue with Tests being over relatively quickly.

“I’ve played in Tests that have fizzled out into a five-day draw and think everyone walks away feeling a bit empty whereas [have] played in two or three-day matches where everyone can’t take their eyes off the TV for a minute,” Cummins said.

Pat Cummins says two or three-day Test matches can be compelling viewing. Picture: Liam Kidston

“Ideally you want it to go a bit longer than two days but you want it to be a good contest between bat and ball. A couple of the Tests this summer have been fantastic, feels like every session has importance and each side can win.”

Cummins backed Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne to find form after modest recent stretches.

“You see how hard they work in the nets and even the way they have gone about their innings they look like piling on a big 100 or 200 like we have seen them do in the past,” Cummins said.

“Smithy in particular last week looked really sharp up the top but just got a good ball. It feels like they are poised to have a big impact.

“This summer we are looking at it as a seven-Test summer. Away series are always the hardest ones to win so that two-match series against New Zealand is going to be huge.

“We’ll focus on this week, but we do have a bit of an eye to getting all our players through and making sure they are firing for that New Zealand series.”

Originally published as Travis Head misses training but still expected to play the West Indies in second Test