SANFL spirit is alive and well
Glenelg defeated Port Adelaide in Sunday’s SANFL grand final at Adelaide Oval, and the spirit of state football was alive and well.
Travis Head’s preparation for the Ashes continues this week when he leads the Australia A one-day side in its opening tour match in England.
The West End Redbacks and Adelaide Strikers captain will take control for five 50-over games, starting against Northamptonshire on Thursday (June 20).
Australian captain Tim Paine then takes over the captaincy duties for three four-day first-class fixtures leading into the First Test between England and Australia, starting on 1 August in Birmingham.
Head, 25, made his Test debut last October against Pakistan in the UAE and has played eight consecutive Test matches, scoring 663 runs at an average of 51.
But the availability of Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft adds to Australia’s batting options for the Test series against England.
Head, who hit his maiden century in his last Test against Sri Lanka in February, will be one of several batsmen keen to make the most of their opportunities with Australia A before the Ashes Test squad is finalised.
*This article first appeared on SACA Media
Australia A one-day squad: Travis Head (c), Matthew Wade, Will Pucovski, Peter Handscomb, Mitch Marsh (vc), D’Arcy Short, Kurtis Patterson, Ashton Agar, Michael Neser, James Pattinson, Josh Hazlewood (vc), Sean Abbott, Andrew Tye
Australia A four-day squad: Tim Paine (c), Marcus Harris, Kurtis Patterson, Will Pucovski, Travis Head (vc), Peter Handscomb, Matthew Wade, Mitch Marsh, Michael Neser, Jon Holland, James Pattinson, Jackson Bird, Josh Hazlewood (vc), Chris Tremain
One-day fixtures:
June 20: Australia A v Northamptonshire, The County Ground, Northamptonshire
June 23: Australia A v Derbyshire, County Ground, Derby
June 25: Australia A v Worcestershire, New Road, Worcester
June 30: Australia A v Gloucestershire, Bristol Country Ground, Bristol
July 2: Australia A v Gloucestershire, Bristol Country Ground, Bristol
Four-day fixtures:
July 7-10: Australia A v Sussex, Arundel Castle Cricket Ground, Arundel
July 13-16: Australia A v England Lions, The Spitfire Ground, Canterbury
July 23-26: Australia v Australia A, Ageas Bowl, Hampshire