Adelaide: Australia batter Travis Head will miss the Pakistan white-ball series to spend some family time before the gruelling five-Test series against India commencing on November 22 in Perth.
Since leading Australia to victory in last year’s ODI World Cup final, Head has had a busy schedule, playing across various tournaments and tours. Having spent 330 of the past 365 nights away from home, he’s now cherishing family time as he and his wife Jess prepare for their second child. The upcoming addition to their family is also prompting him to reconsider his constant travel as a professional cricketer, with a growing desire to spend more time at home.
“I’ll probably make decisions in the future around family more, and what drives me to play is probably more my family and my teammates,” cricket.com.au quoted Head as saying after officially signing a one-year BBL deal with Adelaide Strikers.
“I’m not really interested in the individual stuff or where my career might go to, aspirations from an individual perspective. I want to provide for my family, I want to play with my mates and I want to enjoy what I’m doing.
“I think I’ve done that really well over the last couple of years. I still love playing cricket, I love playing Test cricket and I love playing for Australia and I’ll continue to do that but … I think it’s important to support the family as well,” he added.
The 30-year-old also acknowledged his wife’s challenges of looking after their two-year-old daughter Milla at home in his absence.
“I’ve spent a lot of time away this year and a lot falls on Jess at home. It’s a very busy schedule (for Australia) next year as well, so it’s hugely important from a family side of things to spend some quality time. We won’t get this time back,” Head said.
The 30-year-old said he will continue his physical training during his family time and hit the nets closer to the India series or might play a Shield match before the Perth Test.
“I’ll continue to do a bit of work in the gym and run a little bit, so I’ll do that over the next couple of weeks and as I get closer to whether it be a Shield game or going to Perth for prep, I’ll start batting a bit more and start working on things,” Head said.
“I’m already thinking about it, but I think that mental refresh and walking into the nets … I’m someone who needs energy, who looks forward to batting and who’s excited about batting.
“If I bat every day it will become boring, if that makes sense. I’m not built like Marnus (Labuschagne) or Smithy (Steve Smith) who can bat day-in and day-out. I want to be excited around the fact of batting, I want to be hungry for runs. So I think time away from the (cricket) gear is a good thing, it also helps at home as well,” he added.
–IANS