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"Use your...": Stuart Broad suggests only way for England to counter Travis Head in Ashes

Akshita Patel

Stuart Broad's suggestion to England against Travis Head [Source: @Hashir_63, @GillManiax/X.com]Stuart Broad's suggestion to England against Travis Head [Source: @Hashir_63, @GillManiax/X.com]

Former England fast bowler Stuart Broad has given strong and straightforward advice to England on how to deal with Australia’s in-form batter Travis Head. He urged them to bore Head by not letting him play many balls.

Head played a stunning innings of 123 runs off just 83 balls, helping Australia chase down the target of 205 runs with ease. 

His aggressive batting shocked England and handed them a heavy psychological blow early in the Ashes 2025 series.

Stuart Broad gives ‘Travis Head’ antidote to England

Speaking to SEN radio, former English pacer Stuart Broad said England’s bowlers made a big mistake by allowing Travis Head to face too many balls in an over. 

Instead, he believes they should have limited his strike and tried to frustrate him.

"What they could have done when Travis Head was really going, then you have to use your awareness to say, 'Let's get him off strike, let us let him to face one ball an over and it is a clip off his hip and he gets one and you do not let him face four, five balls an over and he hits a boundary in those'", Broad said.

Broad explained that England should focus on bowling dot balls to players like Marnus Labuschagne to build pressure at the other end. This would force Head to take risks and possibly get himself out.

"And crucially, when you get him off strike, Marnus Labuschagne comes down to the facing end, you bowl dots at him and create pressure on him. Suddenly, you do that for forty minutes, and Travis Head gets bored of getting a single and tries something outrageous and might get out," he added.

He also criticised England’s pace attack for being too impatient. Despite having fast bowlers like Jofra Archer and Mark Wood, England failed to adjust their tactics when Head started attacking. 

Broad believes England needed to take the pace off the game rather than letting Travis Head dictate the tempo.

"But sometimes, the positive option is to take the bite out of what is going on just to try and make Travis Head do something different. You cannot just let him keep flaying it for hours on end and end up with 120-odd off 80-odd balls. I think England could have done that a bit differently."

Stuart Broad baffled by Ben Stokes’ cluelessness

The 604-wicket Test legend also pointed out that this was one of the rare times he has seen England captain Ben Stokes look out of answers on the field. 

However, he gave full credit to Travis Head for his incredible performance.

"It is the first time that I have seen Ben Stokes not have a tactical answer on the pitch. And that means full credit to what he (Travis) was able to do. When I reflect on what England could have done, it came as a shock. They have designed their mindset to Head coming in at number five. He opens the batting because Usman Khawaja has a back spasm. So, the plan is already gone."

Looking ahead to the pink-ball Test in Brisbane, Stuart Broad expects England to sit down and rework their plans. 

With pressure mounting on Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum, England will be desperate to bounce back and stop Travis Head before he causes more damage.