Head ‘almost out’ of Covid
AUSTRALIA are confident that Travis Head will be able to take his place in the second Test against West Indies despite having Covid since the end of the opening game in Adelaide.
Head delayed his arrival into Brisbane by a day to give himself extra time to recover at home but was due to train with the rest of the squad last night at the Gabba.
There remains hope that he will test negative before the start of the game, but even if he doesn’t, he will be able to play although there will be some additional protocols in place.
“Think he’s almost out of it. He’s fine, feeling good,” Pat Cummins said. “Think he’ll train tonight. Obviously, even if he’s still positive he can still play, there’ll just be a few protocols. But think he’s pretty close to a negative.”
Last season against South Africa, Matt Renshaw came down with Covid during his comeback game at the SCG and was kept separate from team-mates while off the field.
With Usman Khawaja having cleared his concussion tests since the blow on the head late in the game in Adelaide, Australia are set to be unchanged.
Renshaw has been made available to Brisbane Heat for the BBL final at the SCG today and will then rejoin the Test squad.
Head played the decisive hand in Adelaide with his 119 off 134 balls turning around an uncertain Australia first innings into a lead, which was almost enough to win by an innings inside two days.
There was considerable assistance in the Adelaide surface and two days out at the Gabba, the pitch had a distinctive green tinge although it may lose some of that colour before the first day for what will be the venue’s third day-night Test. Last year, the match against South Africa ended inside two days and the ground was handed a demerit point by the ICC, but this surface is not expected to be as wild.
“The aim is definitely to wind it back from what it was last year for sure but we have to be careful we don’t go too far,’’ head groundsman Dave Sandurski told the Australian last week. “We want a contest between bat and ball. We don’t want a T20 batathon. We have to find a happy (middle) ground and hopefully we will find it this year.”