TravisHead

A former Hampshire scholar and Australia Under-19 representative, left-handed batter Travis Head had a golden run of form at the start of the 2013-14 season that led South Australia coach Darren Berry to describe him as a future Test player.

Alongside his batting prowess, Head was long touted as a leader-in-the-making when he led South Australia to their Under-19 National Championship title in 2012-13. His leadership skills were clearly admired as, at the remarkable age of 21, he was named the youngest captain of his state team.

In and out of the nation's Test and ODI sides across the first five years of his international career, Head cemented his spot as one of Australia's most important batters with an incredible 148-ball 152 at the Gabba in the opening Test of the 2021-22 Ashes.

He was awarded player of the match for his 163 in Australia's maiden World Test Championship triumph against India in 2023, and seized his chance as Aaron Finch's replacement to open the batting in the ODI side after his retirement in 2022.

Despite suffering a broken hand a few weeks out from the 2023 50-over World Cup in India, Head was deemed that important to Australia's chances that selectors opted to carry him through the first half of the tournament.

He duly delivered with a stunning 59-ball hundred in his first match of the tournament against New Zealand in Dharamsala, and finished the campaign with another player-of-the-match performance in the final as his 137 against India sealed a remarkable sixth ODI World Cup for the country.

Head has also had an illustrious career in the Big Bash League with the Adelaide Strikers, recording the club's first ever century along with leading them to their championship title in BBL|07, but it took until the 2023-24 summer for his to establish himself as a three-format player for Australia.

He won his first Allan Border Medal at the 2025 Australian Cricket Awards, presented the prize in the lobby of the Sri Lanka hotel where the Australian Test team was on tour.

An injury to Usman Khawaja saw Head make a surprise elevation to open the batting in the opening Test of the 2025-26 Ashes, and responded by peeling off an incredible 123 from just 83 balls. He remained as Test opener for the rest of the series, hitting two further centuries - in Adelaide and Sydney - and finishing the series with 629 runs at 62.90.