‘Put the bullet through’: Head rips Aussie legend as potential first Test selection hint emerges from net session
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Courtney Walsh in South Africa from Fox SportsOctober 7th, 2026 9:02 pm
Watching Nic Maddinson middling the ball against Mitchell Starc in Durban on Wednesday, he looked a batsman at peace in his surroundings.
A week ago few would have imagined the left-handed would be in contention to feature on Friday, but here he was facing Starc in all his fury.
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A storm had roared through Durban early in the morning and the sky was overcast, adding to the confusion as to how the Kingsmead pitch will play in two days time.
But Maddinson was middling the ball, both while defending against Starc and when pulling throwdowns from Michael Di Venuto while alternating in the nets with Sam Harper, another late call up for the tour.
Travis Head had fired a broadside at past players for their critiques of the current generation in a press conference prior to the nets session, which followed a savage critique from Matthew Hayden of the decision to pluck Maddinson from relative obscurity, something he said was “disrespectful” to Shield cricket.
But Head was more than happy to dig in for the New South Wales captain, who has overcome a battle with testicular cancer to return to the crease and, potentially, the Australian Test team almost a decade after first debuting.
He pointed to the success of Mike Hussey in his 30s as an example of what can happen in international cricket when a mature player is in tune with his game.
“He did an enormous amount of work in Shield cricket leading up to obviously what he’s gone through over the last 12 to 18 months,” he said.
“It is probably a surprise only because he’s been sort of out of sight, out of mind over the last few years going through stuff.
“But he is a great human being and hugely talented. Like Ron (McDonald) said yesterday, he brings huge flexibility to us in where it can bat in the running order.
“And with a few injuries here and there, that’s what we need right now – mature guys who know what they need to be doing.”
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Head, who batted two nets down from Maddinson, delivered a stinging swipe at the criticism the current squad has received from former players prior to the session.
“I think it’s unfairly judged a fair bit from a group of past players, pretty much that put the bullet through a lot of players, which I think is unfair,” Head said.
“But that’s what they’re paid to do. Some of them need a job, so they go after us, and that’s totally fine.
“This group is strong enough to deal with those sorts of things. That’s how it is. It’s unfortunate sometimes to have some of that feedback from a generation of players that we have huge respect for, but that’s the caper.”
The tension lingers from the axing of former coach Justin Langer in 2022, with his former teammates unhappy with what unfolded.
While the Australians suffered a shock loss to Bangladesh in Darwin in August, they have largely been successful under Andrew McDonald and George Bailey.
“They’re a very proud bunch of guys who went through a bit of a sticky situation with a few years ago, where they stood up and were pretty proud about one of their own,” Head said.
“But in saying that, we’re playing for the same cause. We have huge respect for it.”
If Head was happy to land a pre-series blow in press, the vibe at Wednesday’s session was largely positive and relaxed as players greeted journalists and others that they knew, including former Test opener Phil Jaques, who was in Head’s press conference and is broadcasting for the ABC here.
Among the onlookers was Cricket Australia chief executive Todd Greenberg and Gold Coast Suns captain Noah Anderson, who was wearing the Australian kit.
Starc was the only fast bowler in action after the rest of the cartel bowled on Tuesday, with Scott Boland extremely impressive in the session.
There is a rustic element to the nets at Kingsmead Stadium. As an example, Starc’s run up took him from lush grass and over a bare patch covered with sand before hitting the strip proper.
And there was a rough and ready element initially when Steve Smith cursing loudly after edging a throw down. It followed on from a similar level of frustration in the nets yesterday, but as Merv Hughes told foxsports.com.au recently, he loves it when Smith is agitated as it signals he is switched on.
Marnus Labuschagne, who scored a century in a trial game on the weekend, was shaking hands and chatting away while carrying three bats, two of them bearing pink grips. It is notable he was making runs when using that colour in the infancy of his career.
It was notable that the net pitches were turning and bouncing. Nathan Lyon, in particular, was getting the ball to grip and bounce when bowling to Smith and Labuschagne.
As Jaques said in a chat watching the session, it does tend to turn in Durban, with the pitch also less bouncy than in Johannesburg,for example.
But the overcast conditions and storm added to the uncertainty as to how the pitch will play, which is why both squads are delaying making a commitment in terms of players until close to the match starting.
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Head, meanwhile, was surprised by suggestions he should drop back down the order after he struggled to produce his best form in the series against Bangladesh.
“I have laughed at a fair bit of it because if a traditional opening batter had pushed out the same sort of numbers in his first 20 innings, I think he’d be pretty safe and not talked about in the way that it has been talked about,” Head said.
“But I think that’s a bit of the media these days: it’s not so much a good day, bad day, it’s a lot of headline stuff.
“(I) had a great summer, missed out (on the) first day in Darwin, and I’m no good at it again. So that doesn’t bother me the slightest. If people want to read it and are happy and not having a dig, but people are going to click on it if it’s drawing the line through someone.
“I’ve played long enough to know that that happens. More of that will happen Friday if I open the batting and miss out. The same question marks. Vice versa, if I play well, they’ll probably still think I should go to five. But that’s up to you guys.”
Source: www.foxsports.com.au
