Adelaide, Nov 4: Opening batter Travis Head was on Monday released from Australia’s T20 International squad for the remaining two matches against India to play in the Sheffield Shield ahead as part of preparations for the Ashes.The 31-year-old left-hander will play alongside Alex Carey for South Australia against Tasmania here from November 10 as he switches to red-ball cricket ahead of the first Ashes Test starting November 21 in Perth.
It will be his first first-class match since the tour of West Indies in July. He has had a relatively lean run in white-ball cricket over the last month with a top score of 31 in eight innings across T20Is and ODIs after making 142 against South Africa in August.
Head is the third member of Australia’s T20I squad to prioritise preparation for the five-Test campaign against England.Josh Hazlewood and Sean Abbott are the others, having both faced India over the course of the first three matches of the T20 series. The pair will now turn out for New South Wales in a star-studded clash with Victoria at the SCG. The selectors left the decision on whether to play in the Shield or the final two T20Is against India to Head himself, but he opted to feature in the domestic competition, according to a report in cricket.com.au.
The report also said that every member of Australia’s likely squad for the first Ashes Test squad will feature in the next round of Sheffield Shield.
Head played one early round of Sheffield Shield leading into last summer’s Border-Gavaskar Trophy series and finished as its leading run scorer.
The five-match T20I series between India and Australia are tied 1-1 after three matches. The last two matches will be played at Carrara (November 6) and Brisbane (November 8).