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Name: Travis Head

Born: December 29, 1993
Spouse: Jessica Davies

Travis Head is an Australian cricketer known for left-handed batting. He represents South Australia and Adelaide Strikers in domestic cricket and plays for Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL. Head is versatile, often opening in limited-overs matches and batting in middle-order during Tests. He also bowls part-time right-arm off-spin. Previously serving as co vice-captain of Australian national team in Tests, he was reinstated to this role in 2023 series against Pakistan.

Hailing from Craigmore, Head began his cricket journey with underage cricket at Craigmore Cricket Club and Trinity College. Rising through the ranks, he represented South Australia at under-17 and under-19 levels before debuting in first-class cricket for South Australia in the Sheffield Shield at age 18.

In February 2015, Head made history by becoming the youngest captain in South Australia's first-class history at age 21. Leading South Australia, he excelled across all formats in the 2015–16 season, scoring a double century in a List A match and his maiden first-class century, and later, his first Twenty20 century. His performances earned him a spot in Australia's squad for Twenty20 Internationals against India, where he made his international debut.

Head continued to contribute consistently for Australia, making his ODI debut against West Indies in 2016 and later joining IPL team Royal Challengers Bangalore and playing County cricket for Yorkshire. Despite his success, he was not selected for Australia's Test squad for the 2017 Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

Head retained his place in the Australian side for the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy. Weather disruptions marred Australia's early matches in the tournament, denying Head the chance to bat. In the sole completed match against England, Head top-scored with an unbeaten 71 in a losing cause.

Scheduled to play for Yorkshire in the 2017 NatWest T20 Blast, Head withdrew after being appointed captain of the Australia A side for the 2017 South Africa A Team Tri-Series. However, Australia A later withdrew from the tournament due to a pay dispute with Cricket Australia.

The 2017–18 Sheffield Shield season saw Head vying for Australia's number 6 spot for the upcoming Ashes series. Although he had a slow start with low scores against New South Wales, Head bounced back with a solid half-century against Victoria and a century against Queensland. Despite his efforts, he did not secure a spot in Australia's Test team. Furthermore, when Brad Hodge left Adelaide Strikers, Head was named as his successor, adding to his captaincy roles for South Australia and becoming the captain of the state's highest-level team across all three formats.

In April 2018, Head was awarded the national contract by Cricket Australia for the 2018–19 season. In September 2018, he was named in Australia's Test squad for series against Pakistan. He made his Test debut for Australia against Pakistan on 7 October 2018.

In January 2019, Head was announced as Australia's new Test vice-captain, alongside Pat Cummins ahead of the series against Sri Lanka on 24 January due to the unavailability of regular vice-captains. In the two-Test series, across three innings, Head scored 84, 161 (his maiden Test century), and 59 not out to raise Test match batting average to 51.

In July 2019, Head was named in Australia's squad for the 2019 Ashes series in England. In November 2019, Head played against Pakistan in Australia, although he only batted once in the series. In December 2019, he was named in Australia's squad for Test Series against New Zealand. He made a century (114) and was named player of the match in the second Test.

Head played a significant role in the 2021–22 Ashes series, scoring centuries in the first and fifth Tests, earning him the Player of the Match award both times and the Compton–Miller Medal for Player of the Series.

In early 2022, he was part of the squad for the Pakistan and Sri Lanka tours, achieving his best bowling figures in Tests in the Galle match against Sri Lanka.

In January 2022, Head was part of the 16-man squad for the Sri Lanka T20I series but missed the start due to Sheffield Shield commitments. In February, he joined the white-ball squad for the Pakistan tour, scoring a century and taking two wickets in the first ODI, earning the Player of the Match award. He returned to T20Is in a one-off match.

In the 2023 Border-Gavaskar series and the 2023 ICC World Test Championship final, he scored his first overseas Test century and was instrumental in Australia's victories. He ascended to number two in the ICC Test batting rankings after the Ashes series, where he scored 362 runs with three half-centuries.

In March 2023, he played a key role in the second ODI against India, scoring a rapid unbeaten half-century and sharing an unbeaten partnership of 121 runs, leading Australia to a 10-wicket victory.

Head played for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the 2024 IPL. Against RCB, he scored the man of the match winning 102 from 41 balls.

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