Head sets sights on elusive big score

The No. 4 slot in Australia's ODI side has opened up with the selectors leaving George Bailey out of the squad for the five-match series against Pakistan. Travis Head could well be the batsman promoted up the order at the Gabba on Friday, though the uncapped Chris Lynn and the returning Glenn Maxwell, who hasn't played an ODI since June, are also in contention.

"Yeah, there's great opportunity at the minute," Head said after Australia's training session on Wednesday, when asked if the dropping of Bailey and the opener Aaron Finch represented a changing of guard in the ODI team. "I guess they rewarded me a little bit [after] some okay performances in South Africa. I was able to get some back-to-back scores but probably wasn't able to get that big score that I was looking for, so yeah, given an opportunity in this series, I'll be looking to do that."

Head passed 30 three times in five innings on the tour of South Africa, but only made one half-century. He did better in the home series against New Zealand in December, though, with scores of 52, 57 (off 32 balls) and 37 in the three ODIs. The failure to stretch those scores into something even more substantial, though, rankles with Head. In all, he has passed 30 nine times in 14 ODI innings but has only managed a highest score of 57.

"Little bit satisfied, little bit disappointed I wasn't able to go on and get a bigger score [against New Zealand]," he said. "I think I had the opportunity to do that in a few games and wasn't able to do that, so if I get my opportunity come couple of days' time I'll be definitely looking forward to it. I'm in good form and I feel really good, batting really well in the nets and, yeah, looking forward to getting back out there."

In recent times, Head's offspin has become a useful second string. He has bowled in 11 of his 15 ODIs, picking up six wickets, and has taken wickets in each of his last three Big Bash League matches with the Adelaide Strikers.

"Yeah, I guess it's something that I've worked really hard on," Head said. "I've got some results this year, which has been satisfying. I guess, looking into the Big Bash, I probably haven't got the runs I would have liked, I feel I've been batting really well but haven't contributed to the wins with the bat, but I've been able to do a job with the ball.

"So I think, coming out of the Big Bash, I feel confident, with the bat and with the ball, but it's nice to get some results with the ball, because it's been a lot of hard work over the last few months."

In 2016, Australia passed 300 six times in eight ODIs at home, and scored 296 in one of the other two matches. This sort of run-scoring, Head felt, had something to do with Twenty20 cricket redefining the possibilities of 50-overs cricket. With the middle-order addition of Chris Lynn, who comes into the ODI squad with 309 runs - at an average of 154.50 and a strike rate of 177.58 - and 26 sixes in five BBL matches, Head said it was "scary" what a power-packed Australian line-up could achieve.

"I think it's scary now what you can get in the last 20 overs of a one-dayer if you set a great platform, which is what we've done against New Zealand," he said. "We were able to set good platforms and give 25 overs to playing like T20. Yeah, it definitely brings in guys into it, a lot more than [before]. Lynny's batting fantastic, yeah, he can clear the fence with ease, so if we build a good platform and if he's in that middle order, it's scary what we can get."

Asked about the possibility of a Test-match call-up ahead of the upcoming tour of India, Head stressed the importance of scoring runs "at the right time" to be in contention.

"You're going to do what you can do in Shield cricket, I guess, get runs and wickets, and if you're performing, then I guess the next couple of one-day games, if you're in the team and getting runs at the right time - we've seen with a lot of guys, runs at the right time helps, but looking forward to the next five games and trying to do my job in the side, stay in the side, and see what happens."