Travis Head and Justin Langer Had a Clash of Views, Reveals Paine
Tim Paine revealed that Travis Head and former coach Justin Langer had contrasting views on batting, particularly in terms of defense. Head was trying to balance multiple opinions early in his career, but after gaining the freedom to play his way under Langer's later tenure and guidance from McDonald and Cummins, he has thrived, becoming a match-winner, especially with his 140 against India at Adelaide.
With a 140-run innings at Adelaide, Travis Head has been the focus of Australian cricket. Former captain Tim Paine recently revealed that Head and his ex-coach Justin Langer had significant differences in their approach to batting with the red ball. Paine highlighted that while Langer and batting coach Graeme Hick, a former Test great, advised Head to work on his defense, Head was more inclined to play aggressively.
Initially, Head tried to please everyone as a young player, but he later found success by sticking to his natural attacking style. This shift in his approach has led to his recent flourishing as a Test cricketer, particularly in all formats. In the statement given by Tim Paine, he said:
I don’t think either of them will mind me saying this, but I think he and JL used to have a real difference of opinion. You’ve got Test greats in commentary and you’ve got a Test great (Langer) that’s coaching and Graeme Hick at the time who’d scored 101 First Class hundreds as his batting coach (offering advice). They were trying really hard for him to work on his defense and it wasn’t the way he wanted to go about it, but he was a young Test player who was trying to impress and trying to stay in the team, so he was trying to please a bit of everyone.
Paine noted that while Head will experience lean patches, his aggressive and match-winning mindset is what drives his success. Head’s memorable 140 off 141 balls in the pink-ball Test against India at Adelaide Oval was a standout moment for Australia.
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