Tim Paine has revealed that Travis Head and Justin Langer had differing views on batting, with the former coach prioritising defense, which limited the southpaw’s natural aggressive style that has since brought significant success. Head’s stunning 140-run knock powered Australia to a 10-wicket win over India in the second Test and level the five-match series 1-1. “I don’t think either of them will mind me saying this, but he and JL used to have a real difference of opinion,” Paine said on ‘SEN Cricket’.
“You’ve got Test greats in commentary and you’ve got a Test great (Langer) that’s coaching and Graeme Hick at the time who’d scored 101 First Class hundreds as his batting coach (offering advice).
“They were trying really hard for him to work on his defence and it wasn’t the way he wanted to go about it, but he was a young Test player who was trying to impress and trying to stay in the team, so he was trying to please a bit of everyone,” he added.
The 30-year-old has enjoyed a lot of success after being allowed to play his natural game, both towards the end of Langer’s tenure and under current coach Andrew McDonald and captain Pat Cummins.
“I think that’s been the major shift in his output because he is sticking true to the way he wants to play,” Paine opined.
“At times he’s going to fail and at times he’s gonna have lean patches, but he’s going to be super aggressive, he’s going to play his shots and he’s going to try and be a match winner and we’re just seeing him blossom at the moment in all formats of the game.”
The knock in Adelaide earned Head his eighth player-of-the-match award in just 51 Tests. Considered a big match player, he also received the accolade in both the WTC final and the World Cup final last year.
Paine feels Head’s unwavering conviction in his own methods, which were often criticised early in his career, makes him great.
“Travis Head, in modern-day cricket where batters are analysed to within an inch of their life, he is a great example of finding a way that works for you and just sticking to it,” Paine said.
“He doesn’t worry about what (works for others), and I’ve played a little bit with him, he doesn’t care what people think about his technique or how it looks.
“He does a lot of things where commentators would say, ‘Oh, why has he done that?’, or his feet are off the ground and he’s playing away from his body.
“But Travis Head plays how Travis Head plays and he has absolute conviction in the way he goes about it.
“It is amazing to watch a guy just at the peak of his powers at the moment,” he added.
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