Australia opener Travis Head has been bestowed upon the Player of the Month for November 2023 by the International Cricket Council (ICC) on Monday, December 11.
Head was nominated alongside his teammate Glenn Maxwell and India pacer Mohammed Shami for November’s Player of the Month award. The 29-year emerged as the winner of the award for his impactful performances after nearly missing out the World Cup 2023 campaign for Australia due to a thumb injury.
Travis Head missed the first 5 matches of Australia’s World Cup due to a thumb injury. Though he was not completely recovered from the injury, the Australian southpaw was made available for selection in the remaining matches of the prestigious tournament.
Despite missing out the first half of the World Cup 2023, Head emerged as the fifth-leading run-scorer for Australia in the tournament, aggregating 329 runs, including two centuries and a half-century, at an average of 54.83 in six matches.
Travis Head repaid faith with two crucial innings in World Cup 2023
Travis Head indeed played an instrumental role in helping Australia clinch the record-extending sixth World Cup title. The 29-year-old played two crucial knocks in the semifinal and final of the World Cup 2023.
In the semifinal against South Africa, Travis Head played a knock of 62 off 48 balls in a low-scoring thriller on a difficult batting pitch at Eden Gardens in Kolkata. He also delivered with the ball by taking two crucial wickets of Heinrich Klaseen and Marco Jansen.
In the final against India, Australian southpaw played an incredible knock of 137 off 120 balls, consisting of 15 fours and four sixes, to help Australia chase the target of 241 on a sluggish pitch at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
Australia were 47/3 in 7 overs when Travis Head stepped up and formed a crucial 192-run partnership with Marnus Labuschagne (54* off 110 balls) to turn the tables on India and win the final by six wickets.