COMMENT

WITH some cricketers you just know.

When Michael Clarke strutted his way into the Test team as a confident 23-year-old in 2004, he was averaging just 38 in first-class cricket.

Yes, he’d already made 11 centuries for NSW and established himself as a reliable member of the national one-day team, but his elevation to a Test side which had debuted just three specialist batsmen in the previous eight years was a clear pointer to the regard selectors held him in.

It was a similar story nine years earlier when a 20-year-old Ricky Ponting was called up to play against Sri Lanka in Perth. Some players just have it.

Of all the players plying their trade in Shield ranks right now there’s one that stands out as a player most comfortable on the big stage.

Travis Head might not have the formidable average or back-to-back-to-back seasons of heavy runs some feel are necessary as evidence for a Test berth. But he has a fast-increasing list of performances which prove he is destined to star at the top level.

Shane Warne noticed Head’s class on Tuesday night as the South Australian youngster spanked a 29-ball half century against New Zealand to help guide Australia to an unchaseable target in the second ODI.

“I’m a big fan of Travis Head as a cricketer,” Warne tweeted. “I believe he will be a future star for Australia in all forms of the game.”

I'm a big fan of Travis Head as a cricketer, I believe he will be a future star for Australia in all forms of the game @wwos !! — Shane Warne (@ShaneWarne) December 6, 2016

Clarke was similarly impressed two days earlier in Sydney when Head posted another fifty in a match-defining partnership with captain Steve Smith.

A very good innings from @travishead34 supporting his captain. Match winning partnership — Michael Clarke (@MClarke23) December 4, 2016

But there’s been many more knocks at domestic level for the Redbacks and the Adelaide Strikers in the past 12 months.

The double century he scored in a one-dayer against WA last season while reeling in a total of 350.

The knock of 192 in an outright Shield win against Tasmania in a match where batsmen from both sides struggled to make it to double figures.

Or perhaps the most memorable of the lot: his New Year’s Eve Big Bash spectacular last season, where he hit seven sixes from his final 14 deliveries to lead the Strikers to an unlikely win.

If you were otherwise engaged that night, the Strikers needed 51 runs from the final three overs when Head went ballistic. He scored all 51 himself, including 45 from Sean Abbott’s final nine deliveries to take his own score to 101 not out.

With a Test team reeling from a glut of batting collapses in series defeats against Sri Lanka and South Africa, it’s surprising how little noise has been made about considering the selection of the reigning Sheffield Shield Player of the Year.

Head scored 700 runs last season and has added a further 362 at an average of 60 this season. And good judges consider him a star-in-waiting.

Brett Lee can sense Head is one of those rare players who elevates his game when he plays at a higher level. “It happened with Glenn McGrath. He played seven or eight first class matches I think and did OK then went into international cricket,” Lee told Fox Sports 500.

“He (Travis Head) loves to be seen, he loves playing in front of a big crowd and he’s taken that opportunity.”

There was no small amount of pressure on Head’s 22-year-old shoulder’s entering this one-day series against New Zealand given the headlines created by Glenn Maxwell’s omission from the team. But he’s shown the decision to pick him ahead of The Big Show was the right one.

“I’ve been really impressed with Travis Head in the two games so far, he’s played brilliantly,” Mike Hussey told Optus Sport’s Stumps. “Under a bit of pressure, there’s (Glenn) Maxwell waiting in the wings hoping for an opportunity but I think (Head has) really grabbed his chance now and plays that middle-order role so well.”

Head was earmarked as a potential inclusion for next year’s tour of India when the Aussies brought him in to spend time around the Test squad during this year’s visit to Sri Lanka. But given Nic Maddinson’s failure in Adelaide, why wait. Get him to the Gabba.