Hub life holds no fears for Head

Test vice-captain Travis Head isn't fazed about the prospect of spending summer within tightly controlled bio-security bubbles having gleaned valuable insights from friends who have endured months of 'hub life' with Australian Football League teams.

While details of the men's summer schedule are yet to be confirmed, Head is likely to begin the season within a Sheffield Shield hub (tipped to be in his home town Adelaide) before the Vodafone Test series against India and KFC Big Bash League's 'villages' in each competing city.

Men's team coach Justin Langer, currently undergoing two weeks of quarantine in Adelaide after returning from the recent limited-overs campaign in the UK, noted this week his players face "huge pressure" this summer as they move from one bio-security bubble to another.

But Head, who has spent the winter training with South Australia after his plans for a Test tour to Bangladesh and a stint with English county Sussex fell victim to the virus, holds a sanguine view of the coming months thanks to the stories he's heard from those inside AFL hubs.

Having been named in Australia's initial 26-man squad for the recent UK tour, the 26-year-old understood he was bound for lengthy spells in quarantine if he travelled overseas.

The fact he missed out on the final touring party meant he avoided the first round of hotel confinement currently being experienced by Langer and eight players from that group, but it also ensured he was mentally braced for the challenges to follow.

"I'm pretty adaptable, I'm pretty calm about things and if that's what is needed to keep the game going then I'm ready to go into hubs for however long it needs to be," Head told cricket.com.au.

"I've been on tours before, when you're on the road for a long time.

"I've also played back and forth in England and been by myself for long periods.

"It's tough in stages, and you always hope you're getting runs because that helps with the way you think about the world.

"But it's just what's needed to get back and playing, so I'm not too wound up or worried about things."

That sense of ease is partly driven by the regular reports he's received from SA football friends who have spent the winter within hubs in South Australia and Queensland.

A committed supporter of AFL minor premiers Port Adelaide (he donned the Power's colours in last summer's charity cricket match against arch-rivals Adelaide Crows to raise more than $1 million for bushfire victims), Head has also been informed by players in other teams.

The footballers have been in effective lockdown since the AFL competition resumed last June and he has observed a correlation between players who are coping best with the isolation and those who are producing optimum results on the field.

"I've got a couple of mates who are in the AFL, and I've been talking to them about hub life," Head said.

"I'm feeling for them at the moment, they've been stuck inside and in isolation for a whole pre-season and now the entire footy season.

"But it makes sense that, if you're looking at the AFL, you look at the teams that are performing the best.

Image Id: DEABC1640D6241979C16756D5A52E91B Image Caption: Head donning Power colours for charity // Getty

"That's how I'm wrapping my brain around it, looking at them to see how we go about it to give ourselves the best opportunity and be in the right head-space as a team to perform when it comes to matches.

"We've been very fortunate in South Australia over a period with the virus and put ourselves in a beautiful position where we're able to go out to dinner, play golf and train outdoors before we go into a hub.

"With so many other people around Australia and overseas doing it hard, we're just lucky to have the freedoms we have at the moment and we need to keep that in mind when it's time to do our part."

Due to the restrictions on travel and sporting competitions that flowed from the global coronavirus pandemic, Head has undertaken his first full pre-season in several years with the West End Redbacks who are awaiting the arrival of their new coach Jason Gillespie (currently with Sussex).

In Gillespie's absence, the Redbacks have been training under assistant coaches Luke Butterworth and Greg Blewett and last week began a series of intra-squad trial matches at Karen Rolton Oval and neighbouring Park 25, venues that loom as potential hosts for Marsh Sheffield Shield fixtures.

Test-capped swing bowler Chadd Sayers is yet to resume a full workload after undergoing surgery to his right knee during winter, while seamer Kane Richardson is part of the group in quarantine in Adelaide and keeper Alex Carey (currently at the IPL in UAE) faces a stint in isolation when he returns to Australia in November.

But Head has been heartened by what he's witnessed from the squad that has finished bottom for the past three Sheffield Shield seasons and was subject to a wide-ranging review from former Test great Mike Hussy during the winter.

He has been particularly impressed by teenage allrounder Liam Scott, a member of Australia's under-19 World Cup squad last summer, who scored 71 in SA's first internal trial match with no other member of his team (featuring Shield regulars Jake Lehmann and Tom Cooper) passing 20.

"The two opening batters – Weathers (Jake Weatherald) and Henry Hunt – are working really hard and training the house down," Head said.

"Weathers is probably the fittest he's ever been, and he's hit a million balls so far so he's ready to go.

"Liam Scott has got 12 months under his belt (since his Shield debut last year) and he's looking really promising.

"So I'm looking forward to seeing him and Popey (20-year-old leg spinner Lloyd Pope) and our other young up and coming guys, who are hopefully going to play a lot of cricket for South Australia over coming years."