Travis Head has rejected the public narrative suggesting Australia’s players did not care enough about the T20 format after their early exit from the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, insisting the squad was fully committed throughout the campaign.
Australia crashed out of the T20 World Cup in the group stage. After beating Ireland and Oman, Australia suffered back-to-back losses to Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka, results that denied them a place in the Super Eights and sparked criticism back home.
Head dismissed any suggestion that Australia prioritises other formats over T20 cricket.
“The players’ perspective and a team perspective, there’s 100 per cent commitment to everything,” Head told reporters in Adelaide on Tuesday.
“There’s no one format that plays bigger than any other. You’re playing a World Cup we carve that out and we plan as best we can.
“I think it’s probably more a public opinion that so many more people love Test cricket more than they love T20 cricket.”
The left-hander acknowledged that Australia’s failure to progress would inevitably invite scrutiny.
“A lot of people would draw long bows when Australian cricket teams don’t win,” Head said.
“We weren’t good enough. So everyone can draw their own conclusions but we know as a team we were fully committed.”
