The Test Drags On

Not in a good way, thinks GH

At lunch today, 7 aired a lengthy interview with Travis Head. It was fun-loving, easy-going, on-brand Trav - the man who brings a picnic match sensibility to the seriousness of Test cricket, and an appealing 70s swagger to our prematurely jaded modernity.

An hour or so later, there was another Trav moment to dwell on. He bent over, collected from the ground a couple of bails, fastidiously replaced them on top of the stumps, stood back a little to study them, then began slowly to walk away with a glance over his shoulder, with the studied nonchalance of a batter dismissed in the nets - one to you, pal, but, y’know, I wasn’t quite ready….

Except that Head was out, bowled, dragging on for the second time in this Darwin Test gone awry for Australia. The instant a batter hears the detonation of stumps behind them is always a pregnant one - some drop their gaze, some throw their heads back, some pretend it has not happened. Could Head explain his faux courtesy? Maybe; maybe not. But was it of a piece with an Australia not quite ready?

That was last season guys

Head has passed a quiet 2026 since signing off from the Sydney Test, reflecting his newly hallowed status as Aussie playmaker, allowed to put his feet up in the Big Bash League, and to take ‘personal leave’ during Australia’s white ball sojourn in Bangladesh. There was the Indian Premier League; there is always the Indian Premier League; players will shortly begin rising from the grave to accept contracts, such is its allure. Otherwise, with a score of Tests or more in the next year, Head has been working on his handicap, tending endorsements, handcrafting wines. A state of constant match readiness, of course, is needless, exhausting. But drag ons fall into that category of dismissal that often conveys imprecision - cricket a beat behind, off kilter, out of whack.