Travis Head not just put a poor run of form behind him but also set a huge world record with a knock of 142 runs in 103 balls in the third ODI against South Africa at the Great Barrier Reef Arena in Mackay as Australia scripted a massive 276-run win to avoid an unprecedented whitewash.
Coming into the game after scoring just 23 runs in two games, after scoring only 26 runs in three T20Is, Head was under pressure. However, the star opener put any concerns aside while putting up a 250-run opening partnership with captain Mitchell Marsh as the hosts put up 431 on the board following their defeats in the first two games.
Travis Head Creates History
Although Head had failed to produce any significant returns with the bat in the series, he did make a big impact by taking a four-wicket haul in the first ODI. The star Australian opener recorded only the 19th instance of a player taking a four-wicket haul and scoring a century in the same bilateral series in the 50-over format.
This is the second time in his career Head has achieved the feat, having also registered the rare double in an away series against England last year, where he scored a century in the first ODI at Nottingham and took four wickets in the 5th game at Bristol.
The 31-year-old is only the third player to achieve the century + four-wicket haul in a series twice after Bangladesh’s Shakib Al Hasan and Sachin Tendulkar. However, both Shakib and Sachin achieved the feat both times at home, making Head the first player to do it both home and away as well in back-to-back years.
Players To Score Century And Four-Wicket Haul In Same Bilateral ODI Series
| Player | Team | Opponent | Host Country | Year |
| Greg Chappell | Australia | England | England | 1977 |
| Ravi Shsatri | India | England | India | 1984 |
| Viv Richards | West Indies | New Zealand | New Zealand | 1987 |
| Carl Hopper | West Indies | South Africa | South Africa | 1999 |
| Sachin Tendulkar | India | South Africa | India | 2000 |
| Sourav Ganguly | India | Zimbabwe | India | 2000 |
| Jacques Kallis | South Africa | West Indies | West Indies | 2001 |
| Chris Gayle | West Indies | Zimbabwe | Zimbabwe | 2003 |
| Sachin Tendulkar | India | Pakistan | India | 2005 |
| Yuvraj Singh | India | England | India | 2008 |
| Shakib Al Hasan | Bangladesh | New Zealand | Bangladesh | 2010 |
| RJ Nicol | New Zealand | Zimbabwe | New Zealand | 2012 |
| Kane Williamson | New Zealand | South Africa | South Africa | 2013 |
| Dwayne Bravo | West Indies | New Zealand | New Zealand | 2013 |
| Shakib Al Hasan | Bangladesh | Zimbabwe | Bangladesh | 2014 |
| Mohammad Hafeez | Pakistan | Sri Lanka | Sri Lanka | 2015 |
| Rohan Mustafa | UAE | PNG | UAE | 2017 |
| Travis Head | Australia | England | England | 2024 |
| Travis Head | Australia | South Africa | Australia | 2025 |
Head is only the sixth player to achieve the feat in a series where the player played three or fewer games after Greg Chappell, RJ Nicol, Viv Richards, Rohan Mustafa, and Kane Williamson.
New Zealand cricket legend Williamson is the only other player to achieve the feat in a three-match series against South Africa, while Head is the first to do it in a home assignment against the Proteas, which had only three games. Infact, Carl Hooper and Sachin Tendulkar are the only other players to complete the double against the African Giants, with the latter the only other player to do it in a home series.