Aggressive Travis Head puts Australia in charge v South Africa

Travis Head

An aggressive Travis Head put Australia in charge after the first day of the opening Test against South Africa at the Gabba in Brisbane on Saturday.

After bowling out the visitors for 152 on the stroke of tea, Head came to the crease with the Australian score a precarious 27-3. But on a wicket that all batters found difficult to score on, Head looked a different class, smashing an unbeaten 78 from just 77 balls.

At stumps, Australia were 145-5 after Scott Boland was dismissed last ball of the day, trailing by just seven runs. "It was an entertaining day of cricket," Head said. "It's disappointing to lose the two wickets at the end there but we fought hard. It was a difficult wicket, so I think we'll take that - we have to come out and have a good couple of hours in the morning."

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Australian captain Pat Cummins earlier won the toss and chose to bowl on a green wicket under cloudy skies. The decision was vindicated after a stunning start when South Africa were reduced to 27-4 after 11 overs, a position from which they never recovered.

The only batters to defy the Australian attack were wicketkeeper Kyle Verreynne, top scorer with 64, and number four Temba Bavuma, who rescued the visitors from complete annihilation. But once Bavuma fell for 38 midway through the second session, South Africa lost steady wickets on a surface that got faster as the day wore on.

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