Australian white-ball opener potentially available for three matches this season after signing new one-year deal

The world’s top-ranked men’s T20 batter Travis Head has recommitted to Adelaide Strikers for a 13th straight season with the all-format Australian star completing the club’s playing list for the upcoming KFC BBL|14 season.

Head, who solidified his hold on the No.1 batter ranking in men’s T20 internationals during Australia’s tour of the UK last month, has penned a new one-year deal, although he will be unavailable until the closing stages of the regular season due to his Test commitments.

Adelaide Strikers squad for BBL|14: Fabian Allen (West Indies), James Bazley, Cameron Boyce, Jordan Buckingham, Alex Carey, Brendan Doggett, Travis Head, Thomas Kelly, Chris Lynn, Harry Nielsen, Jamie Overton (England), Lloyd Pope, Ollie Pope (England), Alex Ross, D’Arcy Short, Matt Short, Henry Thornton, Jake Weatherald

Depending on his workloads across the five-Test Border-Gavaskar Trophy series against India, the first Big Bash match the powerful left-hander could be available for following the Sydney New Year’s Test is the Strikers’ home fixture against Brisbane Heat on January 11.

The Strikers are scheduled to play three regular season matches after the conclusion of the fifth Test against India at the SCG on January 7. The Test players’ availability for BBL finals should Adelaide qualify is unclear at this stage due to Australia’s two-Test tour of Sri Lanka in early February.

Head didn’t feature for the Strikers last season due to his international commitments and last played in BBL|12, hitting 34 runs in four matches in between Test series against South Africa and India.

After spending most of his Big Bash career at first drop, Head opened in those four games and has since dominated T20 cricket in that position for Australia and his Indian Premier League franchise Sunrisers Hyderabad.

He adds more firepower to the top of a Strikers batting line-up featuring dual BBL player of the tournament Matt Short, D’Arcy Short, the competition’s all-time leading run-scorer Chris Lynn, Australian Test wicketkeeper Alex Carey, Jake Weatherald, England batter Ollie Pope and hard-hitting West Indies spinning allrounder Fabian Allen.

“I’m thrilled to sign for another year with the Strikers and can’t wait to get back amongst the group under our new coach Tim Paine,” Head said.

“I love pulling on the blue every chance I get and look forward to helping the boys go one step further after their fantastic late season run to the finals last summer.”

The 30-year-old’s recommitment leaves Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc and injured allrounder Cameron Green, who has been ruled out for the summer as he recovers from back surgery, as the remaining Test regulars without a Big Bash deal for the upcoming season.

While Hobart Hurricanes, Perth Scorchers and Sydney Sixers have also finalised their primary playing lists for BBL|14, all eight clubs have the option of signing the ‘big three’ quicks to their Marquee Supplementary List like the Thunder and Sixers did with Cummins and Starc respectively in BBL|13.

Introduced ahead of last season, the supplementary list allows clubs to sign up to two CA-contracted players with limited availability each season without taking up one of the primary spots on their 18-man roster.

They would then be able to bring the nationally contracted player into their match-day squad should the chance arise.

Head fills the final spot in the Strikers’ primary squad of 18 for BBL|14 and Paine, who was appointed the club’s new men’s head coach in August following Jason Gillespie’s resignation, is hopeful he’ll be able to call on his services in the push for finals at the back end of this season.

“We understand ‘Trav’ has a hectic international schedule, but we also know how much he loves getting back in the blue whenever the chance arises,” Paine said.

“He’s been in amazing form across every format in the past year or more, as we saw with his brilliant 154 not out off 129 balls in the ODI against England recently.”

Head was Australia’s leading run-scorer across five T20Is against Scotland and England and five ODIs against England last month, reaffirming his status as one of the game’s most destructive openers against the white-ball with 430 runs at 53.75 in nine innings.

He hit 30 and 10 in his first match of the home summer last week in South Australia’s drawn Sheffield Shield season opener with NSW but will miss their round two clash with Queensland in Brisbane on Sunday due to the impending arrival of his and wife Jess’ second child.

The Strikers kick off their BBL|14 campaign against Sydney Thunder at Manuka Oval on December 17 before hosing Melbourne Stars their first home fixture at Adelaide Oval three days later.

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