Even as Australia skipper Pat Cummins remained ambiguous about Travis Head and Marcus Stoinis’ availability for the World Cup tie against New Zealand here on Saturday, both players were keen to prove their fitness during a net session on match eve.
Head, who had fractured his left hand last month in the lead-up to the World Cup, linked up with the squad on October 21 but is yet to feature in the tournament.
On Friday, Head wasn’t in any visible discomfort during his 15-minute hit in the nets and the opener also rolled his arm over, sending down some gentle off-spinners.
Stoinis, who missed the game against Netherlands due to a sore calf, joined the session later and limbered up by bowling medium-pace with a shortened run-up.
After a long discussion with Australia head coach Andrew McDonald, Stoinis also had a bat in the nets and faced throwdowns from spin coach Daniel Vettori.
With the pace of Australia’s frontline bowlers – barring Cummins’ short burst at the beginning – absent at the nets, a large chunk of Head’s net session consisted of facing Sean Abbott’s medium pace and Marnus Labuschagne’s off-spin.
David Warner, Josh Inglis and Glenn Maxwell warmed up for Mitchell Santner, the tournament’s second-highest wicket-taker, by predominantly taking on local left-arm spinners.
While Head’s selection in the XI seems to be at the top of the team’s agenda, it could throw some headaches in the management’s way.
Since his return to the ODI fold in March last year in Pakistan, Head has been in scorching form at the top of the order, alongside David Warner, to the extent that the team didn’t hesitate in picking him in the World Cup squad, despite his injury.
However, his return could see Mitchell Marsh, who struck a record 259-run partnership with Warner against Pakistan, slip to No. 3, pushing Steve Smith, whose preferred position is one-drop, lower down the order.
Other than contending with a batting order reshuffle, Australia could also have to sacrifice an all-round option or Labuschagne, who has chipped in with valuable contributions in the middle-order, if Head is to make his way back into the eleven.
Cummins said that Smith was ready to do whatever is best for the team and indicated that his move down the order was imminent.
“... Trav’s (Travis) been amazing over the last 12 months. Mitch Marsh at the top has been amazing. Davey Warner (David Warner) is obviously a superstar up there. We think that’s the best way to set up the team and we’re really excited with what the batting line-up looks like,” he added.
Smith was confronted with a heavy diet of spin bowling and throwdowns and unleashed a reverse scoop out of the blue towards the end of his stint at the nets.
Australia is coming into the Trans-Tasman rivalry on the back of three consecutive wins and two outrageous performances with the bat.
Alex Carey, a stabilising influence in the middle order, has arguably already lost his place to the disruptive innovation of Inglis.
In an era where revolutions are conceived with indecent haste, Smith and Labuschagne will be wary of meeting a similar fate.
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