Travis Head, the Player of the Match in the 2023 World Cup final, is the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) Player of the Month for November 2023. He won the prize above two other outstanding World Cup players, Australian colleague Glenn Maxwell and Indian bowler Mohammed Shami.
Against India at the Narendra Modi Stadium in the title match, the left-handed opener amassed 220 runs in November, including the outstanding 137 (110) against them. Prior to it, he had also won Player of the Match after making a dramatic 62(48) in the semi-final match at the Eden Gardens against South Africa.
“It’s a great honour to be recognised with this award, but it is a team effort,” Head told the ICC. “Without my team-mates across all formats this wouldn’t have happened; so these types of awards are as much for them as they are for me.”
Travis Head
In the first innings, Head took a superb running-behind catch of Indian skipper Rohit Sharma. In the semi-final, he got two important wickets, Heinrich Klaasen and Marco Jansen, with his part-time spin, in addition to his batting achievements.
“I was fortunate” – Travis Head
Travis Head had a broken hand during batting against South Africa prior to the World Cup, which may have prevented him from competing in the major tournament. However, Australia decided to play the first few games without the keeper-batter despite having him on the team.
Head returned to the field for the final six games, and Australia won every game he played in.
“It’s been an incredible 12 months for the team which it has been a real privilege to be a part of. The way we have navigated a home summer, away trips to India, England, South Africa, India and the World Cup has been great credit to Pat (Cummins, the Australian captain), the players and the staff.”
“I was fortunate that they kept the faith in me for the World Cup after breaking my hand, so it was a great opportunity for me to pay them back. I felt the World Cup was amongst the best I have ever batted, so maybe having a rest before every campaign is the key.”
Travis Head
With effect from Thursday, December 14, Travis Head is officially a member of Australia’s team for the three-match Test home series against Pakistan, which gets underway in Perth.
