Travis Head made history by becoming the first player to win 10 Man of the Match awards in the World Test Championship after his twin fifties helped Australia defeat West Indies by 159 runs in the first Test of their three-match series. Head scored 59 in the first innings and 61 in the second innings on a challenging pitch where both teams struggled to score runs. Australia were bowled out for 180 in their first innings before restricting West Indies to 190. The hosts then posted 310 in their second innings before dismissing West Indies for 141 to secure the victory and take a 1-0 lead in the series. Head’s crucial knocks came at critical junctures for Australia. His first innings half-century helped Australia reach a fighting total, while his second innings contribution helped the team recover from a precarious position of 61-4. The Australian middle order provided vital support after Head’s dismissal. Beau Webster scored 63 and Alex Carey made 65 to help Australia build a match-winning lead.
Head’s achievement of 10 Man of the Match awards in the World Test Championship puts him well ahead of his closest competitors. Ben Stokes and Joe Root have won five awards each, while Harry Brook has four to his name. The left-handed batter has been a consistent performer in the World Test Championship. He is Australia’s fourth-highest run-scorer in the competition with 3199 runs in 50 games, including eight centuries and 15 fifties, behind Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, and Usman Khawaja. Head also reached another milestone by becoming the fourth batter to hit 400 fours in the World Test Championship. He achieved this feat in 83 innings, joining an elite group including Joe Root (576 fours in 119 innings), Marnus Labuschagne (476 fours in 96 innings), and Steve Smith (443 fours in 91 innings).Quiz: Who’s that IPL player? “I would have liked to score a bit more, missed out on a few runs. The communication was important, the conditions were tricky and we did exceptionally well to get to 300 on that surface. I was more positive on Day 1 when the game was up for the taking, last night I was desperate to end the day unbeaten, momentum was the key over here, we wanted to build a partnership, we were slow, but it worked out well (on his stand with Beau Webster),” Head said at the post-match presentation. Head praised his batting partner Webster’s contribution: “He has played a great deal of FC cricket, has got experience in all conditions and situations. You tend to do well then and he took the responsibility.” The Australian batter expressed his disappointment about his performance in the World Test Championship final but was pleased to contribute to the team’s victory against West Indies. “I try to contribute every time I go out there, was disappointed at not making runs at Lords (in the WTC final) despite my good form, was nice to get runs and contribute to the team victory here,” Head added.
