3 Australia Stars Who Can Open With Travis Head For Champions Trophy Clash vs England

Travis Head- (Source:@Johns/X.com)

On February 22, Australia will kickstart their Champions Trophy 2025 campaign when they lock horns against England at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. The two arch-rivals are sweating it hard in the nets and are without several key stars.

More than England, Australia are without the likes of their regular pace batteries- Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, and Mitchell Starc. Further, they also have a decision to make at the top, as Travis Head is without a regular opener.

Notably, Mitchell Marsh, who has been opening the innings in ODIs with Head, has been ruled out of the Champions Trophy with injury. Thus, this article will shed light on three potential openers for Australia who can pair up with Travis Head.

1. Matthew Short

Short is the front-runner to open the innings with Travis Head, as he enjoys batting at the top. Talking about ODIs and opening the innings, then Short has played 9 ODIs as an opener and amassed 195 runs in nine innings, averaging just 21.7. However, Short has experience of opening the innings in franchise cricket. 

Overall, Short has a solitary fifty-plus score in ODIs, but is struggling to score runs. Talking about his performance in 2025, then Matthew has just 2 runs in 2 matches. 

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2. Jake Fraser- McGurk

Jake Fraser-McGurk is another option for Australia. The DC star was not a part of the original squad but came in as a replacement. Australia trusted him with a spot in the ODIs, but he failed to deliver at the top, resulting in losing his place in the team.  JFM has played seven ODIs for Australia, and six of them has been opening the innings. However, he has just 89 runs in six innings opening the innings averaging just 14.

One of the reasons why Australia can go ahead with McGurk to open with Head is to have two explosive players at the top. Further, McGurk shone in India for Delhi Capitals when he opened the innings in IPL 2024. Thus, the Men in Yellow might look to utilise JFM on Pakistani pitches that is a paradise for the batters. 

3. Josh Inglis

The third option in the kitty for Australia is Josh Inglis. The right-hand batter holds no experience in opening the innings but he does open for his side in the shortest format of the match. 

Out of all the other two options, Inglis is the most experienced batter Australia have to open the innings. The right-hand batter has 543 runs in 25 innings. But out of these innings, only four times has Inglis opened the innings for the Aussies. 

Inglis can provide the stability and aggressive style of play at the top while allowing Travis Head to play his natural game. 

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