Negative thoughts knocked on Head

SOUTH Australian recordbreaker Travis Head says his refusal to sulk over shockingly losing his Cricket Australia contract six months ago has helped put him on the road to Ashes redemption.

The Redbacks master blaster (pictured) hammered a spectacular, career-best 230 from only 127 balls against Queensland at Karen Rolton Oval on Wednesday to lead SA to a drought-breaking 67-run Marsh One-Day Cup win.

It was the rebuilt Redbacks’ first victory in any competition for 604 days.

Head, who controversially lost his CA contract in April, admitted he was “disappointed’’ at the time but quickly got back on the horse, put his head down and is now reaping the rewards as Australia prepares for an Ashes series, starting in Brisbane on December 8, with the second of a five-Test series scheduled for Adelaide Oval from December 16-20.

“The best thing is that I didn’t sit on the couch and think, ‘what ifs, am I going to be around and play for Australia ever again’,’’ the Redbacks captain said.

“Those thoughts didn’t really go through my mind because I went straight on the road, had a little holiday with (fiancee) Jessica and family, and then headed to Sussex (in England).

“So my mind went straight back to work, trying to do my job of performing for Sussex, having some success there and continuing to work on my game.’’

Head, 27, endured a tough English summer but he has hit the ground running on his return to Australia, peeling off a season-opening 163 in the Sheffield Shield clash against Western Australia and then smashing 230 against the Bulls.

Head is the first Australian to score two one-day domestic double-hundreds and the latest came off just 114 balls.

His 230 was the secondhighest one-day score by an Australian – behind D’Arcy Short’s 257 for WA against Queensland in 2018.