Cricket World Cup: Travis Head’s return date still in question, Smith cleared after blow

Steve Smith has been cleared after his blow in the Delhi nets, but will he be joined by Travis Head in the XI to face the Dutch? It appears the Aussies will leave it late.

Australia is set to leave it late before making a final call on Travis Head’s availability for Wednesday’s clash with the Netherlands, but Steve Smith is in the clear after being struck on the arm at training on Monday night.

The Aussies were giving serious contemplation to recalling Head for his first match since having his left hand broken by South African paceman Gerald Coetzee in a one-dayer less than six weeks ago, with the South Australian having trained strongly on Monday night. Head faced up to both spin and pace in the nets, had a stint of range hitting in the middle of Delhi’s Feroz Shah Kotla and did some catching practice.

The left-hander is an automatic selection at the top of the order once cleared as fit.

Should he return to the side for the World Cup date with the Dutch, Head is likely to displace Marnus Labuschagne in the Australian XI, with Mitch Marsh to drop down the order, most likely to No. 3, to allow Head to open the batting with David Warner.

Travis Head’s immediate availability is still up in the air. (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)

Speaking at the ground on match eve, Marsh - who along with Warner posted a ton in Australia’s win over Pakistan last Friday in Bangalore - said a call had not yet been made on whether Head would take on the Netherlands, or be held back for at least another match.

Australia has a short turnaround to a game with New Zealand at Dharamsala on Saturday.

“That decision will be made this afternoon/tonight,” Marsh said.

“He looked good. Bit of range hitting last night. He said the hand feels good. I’m sure if he’s fit he’ll be available for selection and in the team.”

Marsh said he was fine being bumped down a spot given Head’s impending inclusion.

“I’ve obviously batted three a lot the last couple of years, so I feel really comfortable there,” Marsh said

Former captain Smith sent a scare through the Australian camp on Monday night when he dropped his bat after being hit on the arm by a searing Sean Abbott delivery.

Smith exited his net to be assessed by Australian team physio Nick Jones, who applied bandaging to the champion’s arm.

But Smith returned to bat for an extended period, with Marsh on Tuesday downplaying the seriousness of the issue.

“I didn’t (see it live),” Marsh said.

“I read your article this morning, so that was the first I heard of it. Probably goes to show how bad it was, bit of carry-on from Smudger (Smith) as normal.”

Smith copped a blow in the nets. (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)

While Australia has never lost to the Netherlands - the sole non-Test nation in the 10-team tournament - Marsh agreed that the Dutch could not be taken lightly. The Netherlands has already beaten South Africa in this tournament, while fellow underdog Afghanistan has knocked off both England and Pakistan, highlighting that there is no easy assignment in this World Cup.

“We respect Netherlands, they’ve been playing some good cricket, it’ll be a tough challenge,” Marsh said.

The Aussies were also set to resist the urge to rest any of their frontline quicks for the game, with workload management between games being employed to ensure Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood are available for all nine league stage matches.

Adam Zampa is also feeling better after a range of maladies in recent weeks, with the leg-spinner set to be available for Wednesday’s game.

Originally published as Cricket World Cup: Travis Head’s return date still in question, Smith cleared after blow