Head blasts legends for ‘unfair’ barrage after latest criticism
Travis Head has clapped back at Matthew Hayden over his latest barrage of criticism and defended the shock selection of Nic Maddinson as Australia gears up for the Test series against South Africa.
Eight years after featuring in three Tests on home soil, but failing miserably and copping the axe, Maddinson, at the age of 34, could be on the verge of making a long-awaited comeback in the opening match of the three-game series.
Speaking ahead of the Durban Test, beginning on Friday, Hayden accused the selection panel chaired by George Bailey of “promoting the greatest pile of mediocrity that we’ve seen in a generation of cricket”.
The legendary opener also said the selectors’ explanation for the Maddinson recall was “dog shit” and argued that in picking someone with a first-class average in the mid-30s they were “disrespecting” the Sheffield Shield.
Head isn’t one to shy away from conflict with former Australian cricketers.
“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,” Australia’s vice-captain 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.”
Maddinson averages 37 in first-class cricket and hasn’t featured in the four-day game since March 2025.
The dashing left-hander was dropped from the NSW side, having scored only 267 runs at 17.8 across the 2024-25 season.
A month later, he was diagnosed with testicular cancer.
His return to the Australian Test squad is a feel-good story and a lesson in resilience.
And according to Head, it was smart of the selectors to turn to Maddinson when Cameron Green and Josh Inglis were struck down by injury.
“We need mature guys that know what they need to be doing,” Head said.
“And I think that revolves back to why we’ve been so good over a period of time, and why Australian cricket was so good back then in that era. Because you bring in the Mike Husseys of the world who are 30, who are tried and tested and know what they need to do, and mature and know the blueprint and know what they need.
“Whether that’s going to result in runs – the game is so hard. But if you know you can have the same person rock up day in, day out with the same attitude, more often than not you get good results, and that’s what makes a good team.”
Maddinson struck 127 for NSW in a One-Day Cup match against Victoria at Junction Oval in Melbourne late last month, enjoying success against an attack led by Test ace Scott Boland and rising star Sam Elliott.
Sheffield Shield batting averages have dropped significantly since the 1990s and 2000s, but Head attributes that to the difficulty of modern pitches rather than skill.
“If you go through Sheffield Shield numbers 20 years ago, they look a lot different,” Head said.
“Darren Lehmann averaged 57, I think, for South Australia, scored 20,000-odd runs. Who’s doing that in Shield cricket these days? Like, who’s peeling out 1200 runs, 1400 runs (in a single summer)?
“I don’t think it’s down to lack of skill.
“Like, [Lehmann] is the exception because I think he’s probably the best Sheffield Shield player to ever play the game. It’s probably a poor example.
“But there’s guys that aren’t putting out the same numbers, and it’s pretty obvious to see what the wickets were like back then to now.”
The tension that’s long simmered between Australia’s current crop and former players exploded when Justin Langer was pushed out as head coach in February 2022.
“They’re a very proud bunch of guys who we 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 recalled.
“But in saying that, we’re playing for the same cause. We have huge respect for it.”