How Travis Head, Australia’s Superman when things gets tough, embodies Phillip Hughes’ spirit

With Phillip Hughes’ life immortalised in a new documentary, Travis Head is making sure his spirit endures on the cricket field as well, writes BEN HORNE.

With Phillip Hughes’ life immortalised in a new documentary, Travis Head is making sure his spirit endures on the cricket field as well.

There was a key line in the Adam Burnett-directed special released this week where Usman Khawaja and former Australian coach Tim Nielsen both declared that Head had taken plenty from his great mate Hughes in the way he attacks the game.

And Head is benefiting from the kind of backing from Australian selectors that Hughes, until the moment of his tragic death, hadn’t had.

Head’s magnificent hundred in Adelaide on day two – the latest in his domination of India – was the brilliance you can expect when talent is backed in and audacious batsmen have the confidence that even if they fail they will be trusted to deliver when it counts.

Travis Head is one of the best out-and-out match-winners Australia has produced since Adam Gilchrist. Picture: Getty Images

Coming into the second innings of the first Test in Perth, Head was under as much pressure as anyone, averaging 12 for the year and his century against the West Indies in Adelaide 12 months’ ago his only highlight in Test cricket since the Test Championship Final in 2023.

But now you’d swear he’s averaging 100 the way he’s bludgeoned India for 89 and now an eighth career century in back-to-back innings.

Head is an enigma of sorts, but his best is simply unstoppable and he is one of the best out-and-out match-winners Australia has produced since Adam Gilchrist.

According to CricViz, in matches where Head has scored his last six Test hundreds, the batting average of all other top seven batsmen for Australia is 23 - compared to Head’s 127.

He becomes superman when Australia has their backs-to-the-wall, a trait that defined Steve Smith when he was at his best.

A teammate and close friend of Hughes’ at South Australia, his passing has left an indelible mark on Head, and one that still causes him great pain.

Phillip Hughes ande Travis Head embrace after Hughes hit 200 runs during a Sheffield Shield match in November, 2013. Picture: Getty Images

“I try not to reflect on it too much. I don’t like to go into depth too much about it,” Head told this masthead earlier this year about the upcoming anniversary.

“Someone who I was very close with and enjoyed a lot of time with and was very good to me.”

India must be sick of the sight of Head.

There was that blazing 163 in the WTC Final at The Oval, then the unforgettable 137 in the World Cup final at Ahmedabad later that same year – not to mention the hanger of a catch he took to dismiss Indian captain Rohit Sharma in that same match.

After the World Cup final heroics, Head’s extremely likeable father, Simon told this masthead that his son would have to enjoy these high moments because the way he plays there’s going to be some troughs as well.

Australia's Travis Head celebrates his century against India at Adelaide Oval. Picture: AFP

The key is that Pat Cummins and the Australian selectors have come to understand Head and have provided him the stability to be himself.

They stuffed up in India early in 2023 when they inexplicably left him out of the first Test, but that mistake won’t happen again.

There was plenty of talk about Head being moved to open the batting to accommodate Steve Smith’s move back down the order, with Khawaja among those publicly giving support to that idea.

But Cummins laughed at all those reports when he addressed them leading into this summer, declaring Head was never moving anywhere.

Travis Head has thrived against India, with three huge centuries against the world cricket heavyweight. Picture: Getty Images

Phillip Hughes was certain to come back into the Australian Test side for the first Test against India in 2014 before he was tragically struck while batting at the SCG in the preceding Sheffield Shield match.

With the right backing from selectors, those close to him are convinced he would have kicked on to be a 100-Test player from that point.

Head is playing his 51st Test in Adelaide and in Hughes’ place he can be that left-handed attacking phenomenon to bring packed grandstands of fans to their feet.

The legacy lives on.

Originally published as How Travis Head, Australia’s Superman when things gets tough, embodies Phillip Hughes’ spirit