Head to put English experience first

Batsman Travis Head will hone his skills on English pitches this winter instead of lining up for Australia A in Queensland, the youngster has confirmed.

Last month, Head penned a deal with county side Yorkshire for the second half of the English county season, where he will replace New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson and again link up with Adelaide Strikers coach Jason Gillespie.

The exact length of Head's time at Yorkshire had been unclear, with the left-hander also named in 24-man group of players to represent Australia A during their winter series from July to September.

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But Cricket Australia can see the benefits in Head gaining valuable experience in England - with their thoughts already turning to Australia’s next Ashes expedition in 2019 - and have released the 22-year-old from national duties in favour of an extended stint with the two-time reigning county champions.

"I have the great opportunity to play for Yorkshire and play four-day cricket there, it's something that I am really looking forward to," Head, who will head to England after tomorrow’s ODI tri-series final, told The Cricket Paper.

"It will give me the opportunity to play in something that myself, everyone higher up and the coaches all say if a great opportunity - to go and play red-ball. I think it's a great thing they can see where I can get better and this is a good opportunity for me personally."

CA General Manager Team Performance Pat Howard said it was an opportunity too good to pass up, with the packed international schedule and visa restrictions making it increasingly difficult for Australian players to spend substantial amounts of time with county clubs.

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"Due to your ability to get a visa in the UK, if someone has got an opportunity to to play in the UK at a good level then we do take that,” Howard told The Cricket Paper.

"To go to Yorkshire (and) work with Jason Gillespie and his team up there, it's a good club.

"It is often said when you lose an Ashes, 'we've got to send more people to England," well that's been happening and it continues to happen.

"Both subcontinental and UK experiences we want to be able to take, particularly for the batsman. To get a good amount of cricket in different conditions, obviously we've got to take every opportunity that's presented."

Head will be with Yorkshire until at least late August, but Howard confirmed the batsman would return to national duties should he be named in Australia’s squad for the limited-overs portion of the Qantas Tour of Sri Lanka.

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For now though, Head is content to focus on his red-ball cricket.

"It's definitely something I'm very conscious of, that I want to be very consistent and score big runs in four-day cricket, so hopefully I can start going that.

"It's being said from the top that I know what I have got to get better, and I was able to do that later on in the year which was a positive, so I am going in the right direction.

"I don't want to pencil myself in as (only) a white-ball player, I want to play Test cricket. So I think going and playing as many four-day games as possible, I think I can benefit from that and playing in different conditions."