Australia has been searching two years for David Warner's replacement. The answer may have arrived in one session

Travis Head walked out of his press conference like the cool, calm and composed man he is.

He was bare-footed with the baggy green still on and scrolled on his phone as the cameras prepared to roll.

Later he was on the phone, bare-footed, walking around Perth Stadium.

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This was a man who just flipped the whole script of the Ashes within one session.

The first question to Steve Smith at the press conference was whether it was the best innings he's ever seen.

Head, with his trademark wits, was quick to whisper "no it's not, not even close".

Smith, the team man, was complimentary.

"It's got to be up there, that was incredible to witness," he said.

Post-match, Pat Cummins wrote on his Instagram story that he'd never loved a bloke more.

As the innings progressed, the question came: who is responsible for the masterstroke call to have Head open the batting?

The Aussies were forced to make a change given Usman Khawaja's ongoing back issues.

Some said it was the captain and coach; Pat Cummins on Fox Cricket said it was Head himself.

Smith confirmed in his press conference that Head nominated himself. He then called it "one of the great Ashes knocks".

Now the discussion will be, does Head stay at the top? An interesting point has been made by Head himself.

When asked why today was the day he had to open for the first time in Australia, Head replied "it's been brewing for a bit".

"I thought it was the right opportunity to do it ... I've played a lot of cricket with Jake (Weatherald) as well, so I was pretty keen to take some pressure off him," he said.

"I though the moment was right."

Head has opened in the sub-continent, but Perth was a statement and in his own words he was "bullish" on playing the role.

"I'm not worried about personal accolades in this team, I feel like if I can play a role at any stage (I'll do it)," he said.

"We went around the circle a bit once Steve (Smith) had a crack at it, Nath (McSweeney) had a go, and each time I put my name in and said why not? I do it in other formats, could there be an opportunity to do what Davey has done?

"We were sort of looking for that role, someone to go out there and be more aggressive ... I've done it in international cricket a lot now. I've brewed the idea, but I can also see that 3, 4 and 5 has worked pretty well.

"I understand where Ron (Andrew McDonald) and Pat (Cummins) are at, all the conversations have been pretty fluent, we have a great relationship, that's how they wanted to build their team around us at 3, 4 and 5 and that's how it's been and it's worked pretty well.

"I can see both sides, but I'm always putting my hand up, I'm not going really aggressive at it, but I'll put my hand up if the team requires it, I'm more than happy to do it."

So has Australia finally found a replacement for David Warner? It appears his replacement might have been under their nose with his hand raised this whole time.

For the past two years many have been tried and tested, but maybe the answer was in front of Australia's eyes all along.

It creates a complicated situation for Khawaja who has had one of the more inspirational careers for Australia.

Jake Weatherald did enough in the second innings to suggest he could stay at the top.

That leaves Khawaja with a potential middle order spot, or falling out altogether, if this back niggle becomes a problem.

Luckily for Khawaja, there's plenty of time until the Gabba.

But by the time that Test rolls around, his role may have changed completely.

Either way, it looks like Australia has found the answer it's been yearning for all along. The question is whether they now roll with it, or return to the status quo.