Robert Craddock: Will Travis Head axing puncture his confidence?

Australia’s selectors produced one of their greatest shocks in years when they dumped Travis Head for the first Test against India. Robert Craddock looks at what it means for Head’s future.

The danger in dropping Travis Head when he is in such good form is that you mess with his mind as much as his future.

Australia has always liked Head but he’s been a delicate manage and it’s taken the selectors six years of cursing and cajoling, dropping and recalling to get the man to meet his potential.

And now he has been axed. You wonder what this will do to his confidence. Will he ever trust the system again?

Will it take the cavalier, gung ho edge off his game and make him a less adventurous numbers man who lives in fear of getting axed?

These may sound like melodramatic statements but confidence in sport is a fragile thing … it’s hard to gain and easily lost.

We all know Head’s shortcomings in Asia. He averaged 22 in Pakistan last year and seven in Sri Lanka.

This is a horses for courses selection or should we say horses for cracked pitches because the fear that India’s left-armers will create mayhem out of a dry patch was expected to cost Matt Renshaw his spot. But another leftie, Head, paid the price.

Australia’s selectors are trying to get ahead of the game and make the change they felt they might have had to make after a couple of Tests.

Travis Head averaged 156 against the West Indies and 53 against South Africa this summer. All this after averaging 59 against England in Australia last summer.

It’s a brave call and the true verdict will be five weeks in the making.

Head is not a great player of spin and the word from India was that he has been less than impressive in the nets.

But recently in Australia he averaged 156 against the West Indies and 53 against South Africa. All this after averaging 59 against England in Australia last summer.

At some stage a player earns the right to improve in foreign conditions.

Matthew Hayden, Damien Martyn and Usman Khawaja all improved against spin after being modest players of it early in their careers.

Head would have expected to be given that chance.

His sacking is a big call. The challenge for him is to not let it puncture his confidence. The reality is it almost certainly will.

Originally published as Robert Craddock: Will Travis Head axing puncture his confidence?