Too early for skipper Head
The changing face of the Redbacks has seen Travis Head, a month after his 21st birthday, being hailed as the next skipper of the state cricket team.
At this point of his career, it would be very dangerous to thrust him into such an important role.
The media speculation about him taking over from Johan Botha as the Redbacks captain is, hopefully, wide of the mark – at least in the short term.
Firstly it is obvious that Travis is the brightest young batting talent in this state cricket.
Along with Kelvin Smith and teenager Patrick Page, this trio of mollydookers could become a key part of a successful new decade of Redbacks cricket.
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They follow a long list of left-handers – starting with Clem Hill (over a century ago), and including the late David Hookes, current Australian coach Darren Lehmann and, to a lesser extent, Mark Cosgrove – who have excited the cricket purists in this state with their outstanding batting ability.
But to this point, despite a good handful of 90s (five to be exact), Head is yet to make a first-class century for the Redbacks, or for that matter in the shorter form game with the Strikers.
He is a prodigious talent and there is a strong argument he should be elevated to the leadership group in the Redbacks, but he’s not yet ready to take on the senior role.
There are three prime candidate to take over from Botha in the short team: returning Northern Jets cricketer and fellow left-hander Mark Cosgrove, another home-grown product Callum Ferguson, and international cricketer with the Netherlands, Tom Cooper.
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To this point the youngest South Australian captain was Gary Cosier – a Victorian who crossed the border in search of more opportunities at first class level.
Cosier was 23 years and 201 days old when he led SA in the first of a pair of fixtures in November 1976.
Over more than 125 years of the competition, the youngest Sheffield Shield skipper was Cameron White, appointed to lead Victoria at the age 20 years and 76 days in 2003.
It could be argued that White has underachieved as a player, considering his considerable talent as a batsman and leg spinner.
Head has already show leadership qualities, captaining his state to Australian under-19 glory in 2011-12 on home soil.
Travis Head is a future captain of this state, but let’s hope the brains trust at the SACA understands that the time isn’t right.
They have made plenty of mistakes before.
Peter Argent writes on local sport for InDaily.
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