Australia back Head to recover for business end of World Cup

MUMBAI (AFP):  Australia are “aware of the risk” of carrying Travis Head in their World Cup team despite an injury and hope the opener will recover soon, chief selector George Bailey said.

Head, who broke his hand in Centurion earlier this month, remains part of the 15-member Australian team that will open their campaign against hosts India in Chennai on October 8.

Bailey said Head, whose left hand is expected to be in a cast for at least four more weeks, will have an impact on his return in the round-robin 50-over tournament.

“First and foremost, it’s about him recovering and that’s the hurdle he’s got to overcome. There’s not a specific date in terms of a game (for his return),” Bailey told reporters on Friday.

“We are aware of the risk that if there is a setback there at some point then it makes it really challenging for Trav.”

Bailey said, “He’s a really important player for us. He is certainly a player who is on our first choice XI. Hopefully when he does come online, he can have a really important impact for us towards the back end of the tournament.”

Marnus Labuschagne was a last-minute inclusion in the squad in place of injured Ashton Agar, a change that left five-time champions Australia with just one specialist spinner in Adam Zampa.

All-rounder Glenn Maxwell recorded match-winning figures of 4-40 with his off-spin in the final ODI against India on Wednesday to make an instant impact on his return from injury.

Bailey said Maxwell will be a force in the spin department alongside Zampa.

“I think it’s unfair on ‘Maxi’ to say he’s not a specialist spinner,” Bailey said on Maxwell’s ability to turn the ball.

“I think his white-ball spinning record is pretty handy and I think you could very much consider him a frontline option. We certainly consider that we have two frontline spinners within our first choice XI.”