Travis Head opens up on his unlikely friendship with Pat Cummins, thoughts on inheriting Test captaincy

Australia’s Mr Perfect Test captain Pat Cummins and larrikin VC, Travis Head don’t seem to have much in common on face value, but, says Head, they’re actually as thick as thieves.

Travis Head is intent to play the invisible man in Australian cricket’s leadership odd couple and makes it clear he is not coveting the captaincy hot seat.

On face value you could be forgiven for thinking that Mr Perfect poster boy Pat Cummins shares very little in common with a deputy who has been loveably compared to some of Australia’s great knockabout larrikins of the past – a likeness only enhanced by his rough hewn moustache.

But Cummins and Head are in fact thick as thieves.

Travis Head and Pat Cummins are as thick as theives. Picture: David GRAY / AFP

A bond Head puts down, on one hand to his captain’s greatest skill – an ability to connect with every personality in the dressing room – but on the other, a hidden reality that beneath the polished public image, Cummins is actually just one of the boys.

“I think the public get a different perception of Pat sometimes because how polished he is and how well rounded he is,” Head said.

“He relates to everyone in the squad with different interests. Whether that be the way he articulates things, whether that be in just general life situations.

“Whether it be just chilling or chatting s**t, really.

“We just get along. Similar family. Our wives get along extremely well. We match really, really well.”

Head is the vice-captain and junior of a fast bowling skipper who has said in the past he doesn’t see himself necessarily remaining in charge of the team for the rest of his Test career.

So is one day taking over the reins from Cummins something Head is preparing himself for?

It doesn’t sound like it.

Travis Head and Pat Cummins celebrate a wicket fot the ODI team in 2014. Picture: Sarah Reed

“I’m happy Pat’s not going anywhere,” Head said.

“I’m happy supporting him at the moment. He’s doing a tremendous job.

“The longer that he’s around, the more enjoyable it’s for me. Obviously we’re very close.

“The more Pat around the better for everyone and I’ll be happy with that.”

It’s been said that the best captains are those who don’t covet the mantle and certainly Head’s greatest attribute as a leader seems to be an innate ability to just be himself.

“I haven’t got much time for the off field (captaincy responsibilities),” he said.

“I don’t know how Pat does it with kids, and the time we are away and the extra meetings and everything – speaking gigs.

“Over the years I’ve lost the want or need to do that. I did it (as a young South Australian captain) because it came with the territory as a young kid.

“I learnt a lot about myself and gained a lot of feelings around certain things and what I did and didn’t like (about captaincy).

“I think that makes me a better player and a better leader as such, if you can call it that.

“I’m a better teammate now because I think I know what my strengths and weaknesses are and I’m not afraid to say that.

“If I was to captain in some capacity in the future it wouldn’t be how Pat does it.”

Originally published as Travis Head opens up on his unlikely friendship with Pat Cummins, thoughts on inheriting Test captaincy