Tim Paine has revealed that Travis Head and Justin Langer had different views on batting, with the former coach prioritizing defense which limited the left-hander's natural aggressive style, which has since produced significant success. Head's stunning 140-run knock lifted Australia to a 10-wicket win over India in the second Test and leveled the five-match series at 1-1. “I don't think either of them will mind me saying this, but he and JL used to have a real disagreement,” Paine said on 'SEN Cricket'.
“You have Test greats on commentary and you have a Test great (Langer) coaching and Graeme Hick at the time who had scored 101 First Class hundreds as his batting coach (giving advice).
“They tried very hard to work on his defense and that wasn't the way he wanted to do it, but he was a young Test player trying to impress and stay in the team. “I'm trying to please everyone a bit. pose,” he added.
The 30-year-old has enjoyed plenty of success after being allowed to play his natural game, both towards the end of Langer's tenure and under current coach Andrew McDonald and captain Pat Cummins.
“I think this has been the biggest change in his performance as he stays true to the way he wants to play,” Paine said.
“Sometimes he'll fail and sometimes he'll have lean spots, but he'll be super aggressive, he'll play his shots and he'll try to be a match-winner and we just see him blossoming at the moment in all formats of the game.”
The blow in Adelaide earned Head his eighth player-of-the-match award in just 51 tests. He is considered a great competitive player and also received the distinction in both the WTC final and the World Cup final last year.
Paine believes that Head's unwavering belief in his own methods, which were often criticized early in his career, makes him great.
“Travis Head, in modern cricket, where batters are analyzed to within an inch of their lives, he is a great example of finding a way that works for you and sticking to it,” Paine said.
“He doesn't worry about what (works for others), and I've played with him a little bit, he doesn't care what people think about his technique or what it looks like.
“He does a lot of things where commentators would say, 'Oh, why did he do that?', or his feet are off the ground and he's playing away from his body.
“But Travis Head plays how Travis Head plays and he has absolute conviction in the way he does it.
“It's amazing to see a man at the peak of his powers right now,” he added.
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