“I butchered it a little bit and now it’s come off” - Travis Head’s cheeky response to shaving off his trademark mustache

Australian batter Travis Head gave a cheeky response when asked about why he got rid of his trademark mustache. He replied that he has only one setting in his clipper and hence ended up butchering the beard a little.

Head has been in excellent form with the willow lately. He top-scored for Australia in the second innings of the Headingley Test in the ongoing Ashes 2023 series. The left-handed batter smashed 77 off 112 balls, striking seven fours and three sixes, as Australia posted 224 on the board.

Speaking at a press conference at the end of the third day’s play, Head gave an amusing reply to a query on his missing mustache.

He commented:

“I’ve copped a bit of stick for that. I tried to trim it. I’ve only got the one setting, so I butchered it a little bit and now it’s come off. I did say I’ll reflect on it. I probably started a little bit early. In the process, it got a little bit longer for me. We’ll see how it goes in the next couple of weeks. It will be back, but might not be as long as it once was. So all good.”

Head had a smile when asked if he sought the help of a third party for the task and if he had any payment issues. The comment was made in reference to a report in a UK newspaper that had claimed keeper-batter Alex Carey did not pay for a haircut in Leeds some days back.

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“I don't think you can pair me and Stokes together” - Head

Following his combative knock on Saturday at Headingley, comparisons between Head and England captain Ben Stokes have increased. In England’s first innings, Stokes smashed 80 to lift England from a tough situation.

In fact, both Stokes and Head have been constantly bailing their respective sides out of trouble. The Aussie batter, however, refused to get drawn into the comparison.

He replied:

"I don't think you can pair me and Stokes together. I just tried to pick targets and tried not to get a hole put through me with [Mark] Wood. I just tried to give myself as much space and not be predictable. [Wood] is a challenging bloke to get after, especially in those positions where I'm taking most of the strike off him. I thought we worked through it well.”

Resuming their second innings at 116/4 on a rain-hit day, Australia were bowled out for 224 as Chris Woakes (3/68), Stuart Broad (3/45) and Wood (2/66) shone with the ball. Set a target of 251, England to stumps on Day 3 at 27/0.