Head is one of the emerging great talents in all three formats of the game: Ricky Ponting

MELBOURNE: Australia cricket legend Ricky Ponting has called left-handed batter Travis Head as one of the great emerging talents across all forms of the game in men’s international cricket, adding that he’s excited to see what the next 12 months hold for him.

Head was Player of The Match in this year’s World Test Championship final after making 163, against India in the first innings at The Oval in June. In this year’s ODI World Cup, Head won Player of The Match honours in both semi-final and final, helping Australia lift the trophy with a superb 137 in the title clash against India.

“Right now he’s one of the emerging great talents I think in all three formats of the game around the world. That’s the way I sort of described him at the end of the World Cup. I think it’s really true. He’ll get a bit of a crack at it now in the T20 format.”

“He’ll be the One Day opener for a while and what he’s done in the middle order in Test cricket has been awesome. I’m looking forward to seeing more of his development over the coming 12 months,” said Ponting on SEN Radio.

Head, 29, has made headlines for his aggressive style of batting and putting pressure back onto opposition bowlers quickly. Ponting thinks that’s Head’s success in international cricket has come because of playing with absolute freedom.

“What I see there is someone that’s just playing with absolute freedom. That’s the way he’s playing and that’s obviously the way he plays his best cricket. I think the first part of his international career, he was sort of juggling with trying to fight. It’s a bit like Cameron Green, I was just saying how he is trying to find the right way for him to be successful at the highest level.”

“I think what we’ve seen with Travis now is, ‘Go out and hit the ball right from the start, try and put pressure back on the bowlers from the start of your innings’. A couple of those innings in the World Cup were quite breathtaking. But it’s been more his Test batting that’s really caught my eye the last couple of years.”

“I think his strike rate in Test cricket in the last two years is nearly 100, which is quite remarkable. He’s made big scores along with it and when you make big scores and get them quickly like that, you win games, you set up games, whether it be white ball or Test match cricket. He’s done that really well,” he concluded. IANS

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