Head to open when he’s fit to play: Bailey

When he regains full fitness, Travis Head will move back to the top of the order according to Australia’s chief selector George Bailey. It would entail moving the inform Mitchell Marsh, who scored a hundred alongside David Warner in a historic opening stand against Pakistan, lower in the order.

Prior to Australia’s Woeld Cup match against Netherlands at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, Head, who fractured his left hand last month, is expected to arrive in Delhi and join the team. After the medical staff decided against surgery, which would have required a longer 10-week recovery period, he was in a splint until last Friday.

Travis Head clearly comes in at the top, according to Bailey. “He’s been fantastic there for us and that’s where he’ll slot in. And then we’ll just work out (the playing XI) when it is, who we’re playing, the surface and what you might need.”

Just six weeks after the injury, the team will play the Netherlands, but Bailey said it “is okay” if the comeback happens later in the World Cup. 

“It can be a six to eight-week injury. He’s ticked all the boxes in terms of the four-week scan and the bone has healed, so that’s all going well, and he’s progressed really well through the week (since he started batting),” Bailey stated.

“But clearly the whole point of having him (in the WC squad) and carrying him to this point is not to then risk it by bringing him back early. So if it works out for that Dutch game, great. If it’s a little bit further on, then that’s okay.”