Travis Head: Decoding his all-round ODI stats vs South Africa
What's the story
Australian opener Travis Head delivered an impressive spell in the first ODI against South Africa at Cazaly's Stadium, Cairns. Albeit in a losing cause, the part-time off-spinner claimed four wickets as South Africa scored 296/8 in their full quota of overs. His performance was instrumental in triggering a middle-order collapse for South Africa. On this note, let's decode his all-round stats versus SA in ODI cricket.
Milestone
Head scripts these records with four-fer
The aforementioned game saw Head become the first Australian spinner to take an ODI four-wicket haul against South Africa at home. His exceptional middle-over spell saw South Africa go from 223/2 to 230/5. Despite Head's efforts, Australia failed to chase down the target set by South Africa. Meanwhile, Nathan Hauritz is the only other Aussie off-spinner with an ODI four-fer against the Proteas team.
Bowling stats
Nine wickets against the team
Having played 14 ODIs against SA, Head has claimed nine wickets across eight innings at an average of 30.55. His economy of 6.39 is slightly on the higher side. Meanwhile, the part-timer has not taken as many or more ODI wickets against any other team. Head's only other four-wicket haul in ODIs came against England last year - 4/28. Overall, he boasts 28 ODI wickets at an economy of 5.72.
Batting stats
Three fifties with the bat
With the willow, Head has garnered 395 ODI runs against SA at a paltry average of 30.38. This is the lowest he averages against a team in the format (Minimum: 5 innings). However, the southpaw has three fifties against the team, with his best score being 64. Meanwhile, Head's strike rate of 118.26 against SA is his highest against a team in the format (Minimum: 5 innings). Overall, he owns 2,794 ODI runs at 43.65 (100s: 6, 50s: 17).