Head ready to open again in second Ashes Test and says flexible batters will be key
Having swashbuckled Australia to victory after vaulting to the top of the order in the first Ashes Test, Travis Head arrived in Brisbane on Sunday to begin his preparations for the second, saying that the future of the format lies in the hands of batters who can flex into a variety of positions.Head described pliable positions as “where the game’s going to”, proposing that Australia could already “use these players in a range of different ways to win games of cricket”.Last month Pat Cummins, Australia’s injured captain, described the concept of batting orders as “pretty overrated”, insisting quality players “can bat wherever” – an opinion Head echoed.“I think you could use this order and these players in a range of different ways to win games of cricket,” he said.“We’ve seen it in red-ball, and particularly pink-ball, as well as non-traditional stuff, with double nightwatchmen, and how you use orders and how you use players in certain situations.
I agree with Pat that they’re slightly overrated.That I guess is where the game’s going to, and it’s when do you use that, when’s the right time, when’s it acceptable, and we’re going to have good moments of it and we’re going to have bad moments of it.It’s ever-evolving.We’ll see where we get to.“I feel like I can play in any role, so I’m open to it, and it’s just trying to work out in game and in moments when that may come out and when you may use that, but I think all options are on the table and have been for a long period of time, about where this team can potentially get better and where there are opportunities to potentially win games of cricket in moments.
I think it’s always been on the table,”Head reiterated his readiness to open the batting again in Brisbane this week and that he was “preparing for anything at this stage”,One thing he is not doing, however, is worrying about the pink ball – “It’s still a cricket ball” – and the impact of playing much of the match under floodlights,“There’s a lot talked about lights and when it does things and what it does and doesn’t do,” he said,“You’ve just got to play the game in front of you.
Some wickets are greener, some flatten out, some crack, some spin.The game and the wicket evolves over five days, the ball sometimes plays differently in different moments.Sign up to Australia SportGet a daily roundup of the latest sports news, features and comment from our Australian sports deskafter newsletter promotion“I guess half the skill of cricket is being able to adapt to moments and problem solve on the go.There’s definitely those throughout pink-ball games, and the best team that’s able to problem-solve on the go and generally just play the game of cricket and not overthink too much will find themselves having a pretty good week.”
Kangaroos stare down brave Lions to prove even the loftiest AFLW dreams can come true
A foregone conclusion, it was said.North Melbourne had already done the impossible. They’d won last year’s flag after an undefeated season, and then followed it up with an astonishing second season of the same in 2025. On paper, a gaping chasm seemed to separate them from the rest of the competition. They were untouchable, unbeatable, and going back-to-back was the only possible outcome
Piastri claims Qatar GP pole with Norris alongside: F1 qualifying – as it happened
And here it is. Will Giles be reporting on an 11th British driver becoming world champion tomorrow? Or will it all go down to Abu Dhabi? Good night.Join us tomorrow, for a race that starts at 4pm GMT. Giles Richards’ qualifying report from Qatar will arrive shortly.So there we are
Piastri pips Norris to Qatar GP pole after victory in sprint race closes title gap
Oscar Piastri knew going into the weekend of the Qatar Grand Prix he would have to be at his best to keep his world championship ambitions alive and, with a battling performance, he did exactly that, by claiming victory in the sprint race and then pole position for the grand prix at the Lusail circuit.Both were significant but pole was crucial in the tense title fight with his McLaren teammate Lando Norris, who lines up alongside him on the front row of the grid, and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, who starts from third, with the three contenders set to go head to head into turn one on Sunday.Piastri has been under the cosh, reeling as his strong lead in the championship was whittled down and then surpassed by Norris and under enormous pressure simply to keep the fight alive to the final round in Abu Dhabi next week. The Australian responded well in Qatar and delivered an impressive run to take the top spot with his final lap, one that had to be inch-perfect after Norris had laid down a strong marker in a tightly fought qualifying contest.It was as good a day behind the wheel as Piastri has enjoyed since he last won, at the Dutch GP in August, which was also the last time he claimed pole
Wales 0-73 South Africa: Autumn Nations Series rugby union – as it happened
Thanks all for your company and comments. That’s the end of the Autumn fixtures, see you back here for the Six Nations.Siya Kolisi is offering thoughts“We had to fight, we respected them, we didn’t play in our half and made sure we played. I’m sure [Etzebeth] didn’t mean to do that [eye gouge] on purpose and I don’t want that to be the highlight of the game. The only way a team can get better is play the best, so next year after facing this they will be better
Etzebeth red mars South Africa romp as Wales slump to record home defeat
Every bit as dispiriting as expected. Worse, was it pointless? Well, it certainly had more points to it than Wales would have liked. But, worse again, was it actively alienating? A record defeat, 11 tries conceded, the first time since 1967 Wales have failed to score a point in Cardiff. The opposition on that day 58 years ago, Ireland, scored 70 fewer than the Springboks here.“It’s quite a raw, emotional dressing room,” said Dewi Lake, Wales’s captain
Constitution Hill falls again as Golden Ace storms to Fighting Fifth Hurdle win
There was another twist to what is becoming a sorry tale here on Saturday as Constitution Hill, whose first two seasons over jumps led him to being ranked among the finest hurdlers of all time, fell for the third time in his past four starts in the early stages of a much-anticipated Fighting Fifth Hurdle.The New Lion, unbeaten in five starts, also fell in the closing stages, leaving Golden Ace to pick up the pieces at long odds, just as she had in a similarly dramatic Champion Hurdle in March after Constitution Hill suffered the first fall of his career.Golden Ace was a 25-1 chance at Cheltenham and a 22-1 shot here. While her odds were trimmed slightly for next year’s festival, the 16-1 still on offer for a successful defence of her crown is a fair reflection of her place in the pecking order over hurdles. She will never be rated within 20lb of Constitution Hill at his peak, but that Constitution Hill seems to be gone for good, replaced by an impostor whose confidence at the hurdles is shot to bits
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