Head urges teammates to move on from WTC final loss ahead of West Indies series

Australia`s explosive batsman Travis Head has urged his teammates to move on from their World Test Championship 2025 (WTC) loss against South Africa.

Speaking about the loss, Head said on the official website of the ICC, “We didn`t play well (against South Africa) and it`s unfortunate. We put two years of hard work into one week and didn`t quite go to plan and the opposition played really well, so there`s another motivation”.

Further speaking, the left-hander stated that they have another two years to build a good team for their yet-to-start new WTC cycle. Australia will now lock horns with the West Indies for a three-match Test series. The first game will kick off on June 25 at the Kensington Oval, Barbados.

“We`ve got two more years to build, and this is another first look at it so I think if you dwell on it for too long or if you look back you forget about what`s moving forward,” said the 31-year-old.

“As hard as that is, we play so much cricket and are so used to that but of course we care and of course it`s not ideal but at the end of the day you can`t change it so you have to move on you have to get back on the horse and you have to play good cricket,” he added.

The `Baggy Greens` will miss the services of star batsman Steve Smith for the opening Test match against the West Indies. He is still recovering from the finger injury, he suffered during the Test title clash against SA.

Australia has also dropped Marnus Labuschagne, who failed to deliver performances as an opening batsman in the WTC final. Speaking about Labuschagne`s recent form, Head said, “It feels like he`s played a lot more than he has for Australia as he has been in the squad for a long time and he has been around the group for a long time. Once he gets his extended stay on the team I think he will excel”.

They have picked teenager Sam Konstas and fellow batter Josh Inglis as their replacements for the first Test at Kensington Oval.

(With ANI Inputs)

This article first appeared on Mid Day