"We complement each other well": Travis Head on opening combination with David Warner ahead of T20 WC clash
Bridgetown, Barbados: Australia's star opener Travis Head said he knows 'bits and pieces' about Aussie's first T20 World Cup opponent and will use warm-up before their encounter with Oman to get more intel.
Head stated that he knows little about the ICC's 19th-ranked T20I team, which has little experience playing against major Test teams and is making its World Cup debut.
"Not really. I think you're going to play everyone at some stage. I guess we know who we're playing in this group stage. We hope to play well against everyone. So yeah, we plan exactly the same, prepare the exactly same way for every team. And not only on-field consistency but off-field consistency on how we go through our plans and what we want to try and achieve. So guys will do that differently. Each guy has different ways of going about things pre-game. So do them well and then make sure we perform well," Head said in a pre-match press conference.
Head opened up about Australia's opening combination for the T20 World Cup and hinted at the expected pairing alongside David Warner. Australia will take on Oman in the Group B match for their tournament opener at Kensington Oval in Barbados on Thursday.
The 2021 T20 World Cup champions will be raring to take the field as they look to begin the tournament on a winning note.
Head said that he and Warner complimented each other really well. Head also recalled his record-shattering partnership with another left-hander Abhishek Sharma in Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024.
"Yeah. I think so. See the difference is both left-handers - but I think we complement each other well, a little bit like Abhi and myself did. So, yeah, I think looking back in the times Dave and I batted, he's exceptional against spin in the power play. More so, Abhi's strengths were against spin and then that was, so that wasn't hard to go by, like how we come off each other. And I think Dave and I we had some really strong partnerships together, faced a lot of different plans, teams will come differently, Oman will come different to England and England will come back, come different to Namibia," he added.
Head had a good time in the IPL 2024 as an opener for SRH alongside Abhishek. He finished the tournament as SRH's second-highest run-scorer, with 567 runs, and played an important role in the team's final appearance.
Warner and Head have formed some of Australia's most successful white-ball partnerships. During the 2023 ODI World Cup, the duo combined for a 175-run opening stand to help Australia score the highest-ever World Cup total of 388 runs against New Zealand.
The Australian star showed confidence by partnering with Warner to face the opposition.
"So like, from Davey and I's perspective, going through who they potentially may have and then who we set up better at and who we feel like we've got a plan on and then we adjust from there - is how it's normally worked. I haven't had many conversations with him about that sort of stuff yet, but it becomes pretty natural for our partnership and our relationship. So yeah, we'll pick our targets that we both feel like we're a chance against and then we'll go from there," he added.
