Travis Head beats Mohammed Shami, Glenn Maxwell to win ICC Player of the Month for November 2023

The Player of the Match in the 2023 World Cup final, Travis Head, is the International Cricket Council (ICC)'s Player of the Month for November 2023. He beat two more brilliant performers at the World Cup, Australian teammate Glenn Maxwell and Indian pacer Mohammed Shami, for the award.

The left-handed opener scored 220 runs in November, including the brilliant 137 (110) against India at the Narendra Modi Stadium in the final. Before that, he also played a crucial fire-cracking 62 (48) in the semi-final against South Africa at the Eden Gardens, which also earned him the Player of the Match award.

“It’s a great honour to be recognised with this award, but it is a team effort," Head told the ICC. "Without my team-mates across all formats this wouldn’t have happened; so these types of awards are as much for them as they are for me.”

Head's World Cup final performance also included a brilliant running-behind catch of Indian captain Rohit Sharma in the first innings. In the semi-final, he took two big wickets of Heinrich Klaasen and Marco Jansen with his part-time spin in addition to his exploits with the bat.

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"I was fortunate" - Travis Head

Before the World Cup, Travis Head broke his hand while batting against South Africa, an injury that threatened to rule him out of the marquee event. But Australia included him in the squad and chose to play the initial few games without the keeper-batter.

Head came back to play the last six matches and Australia didn't lose even one game with him in the team.

“It’s been an incredible 12 months for the team which it has been a real privilege to be a part of. The way we have navigated a home summer, away trips to India, England, South Africa, India and the World Cup has been great credit to Pat (Cummins, the Australian captain), the players and the staff," he said.

“I was fortunate that they kept the faith in me for the World Cup after breaking my hand, so it was a great opportunity for me to pay them back. I felt the World Cup was amongst the best I have ever batted, so maybe having a rest before every campaign is the key," Head added.

Head is now in Australia's squad for the three-match Test home series against Pakistan, which begins in Perth on Thursday, December 14.