Head’s blunt message to panic merchants as thrilling decider looms
Travis Head has called for calm as a wounded Australia eyes a series win over South Africa with the third and final Test starting in Cape Town on Tuesday.
The world’s No.4 Test batsman did not attempt to sugar coat the innings and 31 run humbling in Gqeberha but argued that some perspective was needed as fans and media clamour for selection change.
Australia’s Travis Head walks back to the pavilion after his dismissal on day five. AP Photo/Themba Hadebe
“I think it’s pretty clear what we got wrong. We had a pretty shithouse day. It is as simple as that. If we don’t get bowled out for 99, more than likely the Test goes to a draw,” Head told reporters.
“It’s pretty obvious what we did poorly. So I think there’s disappointment in the room. We’ll talk about it over the next few days (and we will) have a couple of training sessions. The guys will be switched on. The guys will be ready to go again, and we push on.”
Kagiso Rabada returned after a long hamstring injury layoff to help South Africa win and set up a potential thriller at Newlands.
Rabada’s four second-innings wickets included that of the 37-year-old Steve Smith, who, with Australia in dire straits, attempted an out-of-character and ill-fated hook, and only managed to top-edge a catch to midwicket.
It was an injudicious decision from the former captain, who passed the milestone of 11,000 Test runs at St George’s Park but made only three runs in the second innings as he looked out of sorts with a neck complaint.
“He wasn’t 100 per cent fit in the game, but we knew he had the ability to knuckle down and be the anchor for them. He’s done it for so long for Australia,” Rabada said in a TV interview.
“He’s a top-class player, and you can put a lot more pressure on a team when you get their best player out, so he’ll always be a prized wicket playing against Australia.”
Rabada had also dismissed Smith at St George’s Park in 2018, the first of 11 wickets he took in that Test, but he collided with the Australian while celebrating taking his wicket and was handed a two-match ban, later downgraded to a fine.
The shoulder bump was among several incidents in an ill-spirited series that ended with the infamous ‘Sandpapergate’ ball-tampering scandal after which Smith was stripped of the captaincy and banned for 12 months by Cricket Australia.
Rabada, however, said there were no grudges and that it was part of intense competition.
“As an athlete you want to go out and express yourself. There’s no hate off the field or anything like that. It’s a bunch of top-performing athletes who’ve got testosterone to burn. It’s the heat of the moment,” the paceman said.
Kagiso Rabada celebrates the wicket of Australia’s Steven Smith. AP Photo/Themba Hadebe
Smith has been back to Newlands since the scandal, playing in a T20 international two years after the incident, but this will be his first Test at the venue since 2018.
Last month he said he had learned from the experience after being sent home in disgrace.
Meanwhile, Rabada’s fast bowling teammate Anrich Nortje is out of the Test after a groin injury suffered early in Gqeberha.
The 32-year-old Nortje pulled up in his fourth over and played no further part in the Test, which South Africa won by an innings and 31 runs on Thursday
His withdrawal is the only change to the home squad.
