Travis Head, the 30-year-old explosive opening batsman of the Australian National Cricket Team, has been appointed as the Australians’ T20I captain after original captain Mitchell Marsh was ruled out of the second T20I against the England National Cricket Team.

The second T20I of the three-match series between England and Australia began on Friday, September 13 at Sophia Gardens in Cardiff.

Australia went into the match with a 1-0 lead, having won the first match by 28 runs at the Rose Bowl in Southampton. Head, who is currently the number one ranked batsman in the ICC, won the Man of the Match award in the first match for his 59 runs off just 23 balls.

Meanwhile, Travis Head came out on the field for the toss in the second T20I and revealed that Mitchell Marsh was not feeling well. Hence, he was given the leadership duties. Notably, he became the 13th player to lead Australia in T20I cricket.

Jake Fraser-McGurk replaced Marsh in the starting XI. Apart from this, Josh Hazlewood was rested while Xavier Bartlett suffered a side injury in the first T20I and was ruled out. Aaron Hardie and Cooper Connolly came in as replacements for the above-mentioned players.

Mitch is feeling a little under the weather – Travis Head

Speaking at the toss, Travis Head, who captained Australia for the first time, said they want to play with determination against the Three Lions. Travis Head said:

“Mitch is not feeling well, that’s why we made this change. We made three changes today. We want to play with intention, we have some incredible hitters in the middle, some big players in the middle and they are eager to play.”

Meanwhile, England made just one change to their starting XI by bringing in Brydon Carse in place of Jofra Archer, who had been rested for the crucial match. Speaking at the toss, Phil Salt said they need to bat well and build good partnerships.

It is noteworthy that Phil Salt has led the England National Cricket Team in the T20I series because Jos Buttler has been ruled out of the matches due to a right calf injury.

Moreover, the star batsman and captain is doubtful for the upcoming ODI series against the Australians and if he misses out again, Harry Brook is likely to lead the England National Cricket Team against the Australia National Cricket Team.

“We’re going to have a game, it looks like it’s going to be a first-wicket game, let’s hope we do well. We need to put together partnerships, we probably lost too many wickets in the last game. We have high expectations as professionals, there are a number of players missing, Jofra Archer is out and Brydon Carse will be back in the game,” said Phil Salt.

Travis Head leads Australia as Phil Salt leads England: Full starting XI –

Australia Starting XI: Travis Head (centre), Matt Short, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Josh Inglis (wk), Marcus Stoinis, Tim David, Cameron Green, Aaron Hardie, Cooper Connolly, Sean Abbott, Adam Zampa

England Starting XI: Phil Salt (c) (wk), Will Jacks, Jordan Cox, Liam Livingstone, Jacob Bethell, Sam Curran, Jamie Overton, Brydon Carse, Adil Rashid, Saqib Mahmood, Reece Topley