Travis Head may have batted himself into a permanent role as Australian opener after his swashbuckling 123 against England, casting doubt on the future of an ageing Usman Khawaja.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The 38-year-old Khawaja failed to open in either innings in Perth because of back spasms, paving the way for Head to seize the opportunity with all guns blazing.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
His 123 from just 83 balls drove Australia to a crushing eight-wicket victory, with the knock hailed as one of the best in Ashes history by skipper Steve Smith.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Australia have been searching for a new opener since David Warner retired early last year with Khawaja going through six different partners.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Debutant Jake Weatherald got the nod for Perth.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
But instead of striding out alongside Khawaja he padded up with Marnus Labuschange in the first innings then Head, promoted from number five in the order, in the second.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Weatherald fell for a second-ball duck first up, but did enough with a composed 23 alongside Head to warrant another crack in the second Test at Brisbane.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
What happens next with an out-of-form Khawaja remains to be seen, with Smith non-committal when asked if his days were numbered.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"Let's just digest this first I think, you know the last couple of hours has been pretty incredible," he said after the game.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"It's probably too early to say anything on that.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"He's not moving particularly well in there, the old fella," he added.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"Unfortunately he just pulled up a bit lame early on in the game, and that happens when your back goes.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"I've been there myself when your back seizes up, and it's not a nice place to be."<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Khawaja came under fire for playing golf on the eve of the Test, although Cricket Australia boss Todd Greenberg stressed the back problem was pre-existing.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Head said opening for Australia at home had been "brewing for a bit", having done the job several times on overseas tours.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"Played a lot of cricket with Jake (for South Australia), so I was pretty keen to take some pressure off him. I just felt like the moment was right," he said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"I was pretty bullish around the fact that I felt like I could do it. I'm always putting my hand up.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"I'm not going really aggressive at it, but I put my hand up. If the team requires it, I'm more than happy to do it and keep the option there."
\r\n <\/p>\r\n",
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