Australia's Travis Head says ex-players' criticism unfair before Durban Test

Australia play their first Test in South Africa since the 2018 ball-tampering scandal when they start a three-match series in Durban on Friday, Al Jazeera reported. The tourists' attempts to roughen the ball using sandpaper to aid reverse swing in Cape Town in March 2018 were caught on camera, and captain Steve Smith was among those banned for their role, according to Al Jazeera.

Al Jazeera reported the scandal has attracted little media focus in South Africa compared with the attention devoted to it in the Australian press. South Africa have played Tests in Australia since the incident, and Australia have toured South Africa for limited-overs internationals, it reported.

Australia vice-captain Travis Head said at a news conference on Wednesday that former players had judged the current side unfairly. "I think it's unfairly judged a fair bit from a group of past players, pretty much that put the bullet through a lot of players, which I think is unfair," Head said, according to Al Jazeera and ABC. He added: "Some of them need a job, so they go after us, and that's totally fine." ABC reported he did not name any ex-players.

Head's remarks came a day after Matthew Hayden, a one-time holder of the record for most runs in a Test innings, accused selectors of "promoting the greatest pile of mediocrity that we've seen in a generation of cricket", Al Jazeera reported. Al Jazeera said the reference, made in a podcast, was about the recall of Nic Maddinson, who had been out of Test cricket for nearly 10 years. Head also referred to a "sticky situation" with past players who were "pretty proud about one of their own", which ABC linked to Justin Langer's exit as coach in 2022.

ABC reported that Test batting averages have dropped by close to 20 per cent from the end of the 2010s, and that critics have linked the fall to the rise of T20 cricket. Head pointed to pitch conditions as a major factor. "It's pretty obvious to see what the wickets were like back then to now," he said. "We have huge respect for what's come before us, but it's a completely different game."

Al Jazeera reported that Josh Inglis fractured a finger and Cameron Green suffered a stomach injury, opening a chance at number five for Cooper Connolly or the 34-year-old Maddinson, who has recovered from cancer. It reported South Africa may rest frontline bowler Kagiso Rabada as he continues his comeback from a hamstring injury. Coach Shukri Conrad has several options at number three, including a potential first cap for 30-year-old Marques Ackerman, Al Jazeera reported.