Travis Head, on Thursday (January 18), made a brilliant reflex catch to send back West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite in the second innings of the ongoing first Test of AUS vs WI at the Adelaide Oval.
After being eliminated by 283, Australia made a good start with the ball. Josh Hazlewood gave the hosts the early lead by dismissing opener Tagenarine Chanderpaul for a duck even before the visitors could open their account.
And the West Indies could only score one run before also losing their captain’s wicket, courtesy of a sharp catch by Travis Head in the shooting leg. On the second ball of the third over, Hazlewood bowled a full delivery that was angled. Brathwaite attempted a flick, but before the ball could land on the ground, Travis Head showed remarkable reflexes to catch it just inches off the ground.
Look:
EARRING! 🤘
It’s Trav Head day in Adelaide #AUSvWI pic.twitter.com/mzOsDQk8M0
– cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) January 18, 2024
After Brathwaite’s departure, Hazlewood dismissed Alick Athanaze for a duck and Kavem Hodge for 3 to leave West Indies reeling at 19 for 4 in the 10th over. Cameron Green and Nathan Lyon also joined the party by taking a wicket each to leave the tourists reeling at 73 for 6 at stumps on Day 2.
Travis Head’s Century bails out Australia:
Earlier in the day, Travis Head scored a brilliant century to help his team recover from a precarious situation and take a 95-run lead. Replying to West Indies’ first innings total of 188, Australia were reeling at 129 for 5 with the likes of Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Cameron Green, Mitchell Marsh and Usman Khawaja back in the cabin.
West Indies were on top at that stage before Travis Head’s century put Australia in the driving seat. He scored 119 runs off just 134 balls with the help of 12 fours and 3 sixes. For the West Indies, debutant Shamar Jose He starred with the ball, taking 5 wickets for 94 runs.
Before scoring the century against the West Indies, Travis Head had struggled to score big in the three-match Test series against Pakistan. In five innings against the Asian team he recorded scores of 40, 14, 17, 0 and 10.