Veteran Australia player Travis Head has said that he wouldn’t play a reverse ramp like Joe Root and he would rather clear his front leg and slog the ball if he wants to be inventive in playing shots as well. However, Head was troubled with short-pitched bowling in the first Ashes Test at Edgbaston in Birmingham which Australia won by two wickets as well. Root, who scored 118* and 46 respectively in England’s two innings, played a few reverse ramps quite beautifully.

During an interaction on ‘The Unplayable Podcast’, Travis Head said: “Not a chance, I can’t play the normal reverse sweep. I barely can play on my left-hand side. I have tinkered with stuff, not that shot in particular. I find it easier just to clear my front leg and slog it rather than try to be too funky and I think that works for me.”

However, Head scored 50 runs off 63 deliveries in Australia’s first innings of the Edgbaston Test and added together an 81-run fourth-wicket partnership with Usman Khawaja as well.

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“I think with both teams, we are going to try to suffocate the boundary and try to get batters playing forward defense. In Test cricket, you always talk about getting batters to play forward defense, bring your slips in – nicked, bowled, lbw – especially with the Dukes which can just do a little bit on any wicket at any stage,” he added.

The veteran left-handed batter also added that defensive fields would have to be set if boundaries are being hit by the batters. While applauding Joe Root’s execution of the reverse ramp, Travis Head also pointed out that Australia had a defensive strategy against Jonny Bairstow too as well.

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“We feel like it’s in our favor if there are three slips and a gully and they are going hard and they are going to nick it, but if they are finding ways to get boundaries,” he concluded. “He has actually played the reverse scoops unbelievably well. He probably missed one, which was the first ball of the day but once he is set, he has found a way to get bat on it and you have seen the same thing with Bairstow batting out of the crease and Alex (Carey) coming upto the stumps.”