Travis Head pipped past teammates Glenn Maxwell and Mohammed Shami to become the ICC Player of the Month for November announced by the International Cricket Council. Head missed the first few matches of World Cup 2023 due to an injury that he suffered during the series against South Africa.
After missing the first few matches, Head returned to the playing XI against New Zealand. He smashed a century at Dharmshala and laid a strong foundation for Australia posting a massive total of 388.
Head showed his class with a match-winning effort in the semi-finals against South Africa at Eden Gardens, Kolkata. He picked the wickets of Klassen and Marco Jansen in the same over to put pressure back on the South African batting. Chasing down 213 runs, Head took on South African bowlers and scored 62 runs in quick time helping Australia lay a strong foundation. Despite the flurry of wickets, Australia won the match by 3 wickets and qualified for the finals. He was named the player of the Match award for his all-round efforts.
Chasing down a modest total of 241, Head struggled against the top-quality bowling of Shami, and Bumrah but remained calm hitting boundaries easily. He was eventually dismissed for 137 before the winning run. His knock helped Australia win the sixth ICC title. For his match-winning efforts, Head was named the player of the match award.
“I was fortunate that they kept the faith in me for the World Cup after breaking my hand, so it was a great opportunity for me to pay them back. I felt the World Cup was amongst the best I have ever batted, so maybe having a rest before every campaign is the key,” Head said, in an ICC statement.
Mohammed Shami– Mohammed Shami had a brilliant World Cup 2023 finishing with 24 wickets from 7 matches. He was included in the playing against New Zealand after Hardik Pandya was ruled out due to an injury. His bowling stood out with 3 five-wicket haul including 7 for 57 in the semi-finals against New Zealand at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai.
Glenn Maxwell– Glenn Maxwell had another superb tournament with the bat putting on a brilliant batting display against Afghanistan. With Australia tottering at 91 for 7, Maxwell showed his class with a breath-taking unbeaten 201 off 128 deliveries that helped them to win the match by 3 wickets as Pat Cummins contributed just 12 runs.
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