Australia batter Travis Head was left stunned as a snorter from Andre Russell broke his bat into two as they clashed in the ongoing MLC 2024 in the USA. The Los Angeles Knight Riders (LAKR) and Washington Freedom (WSF) clashed at Morrisville on Sunday, July 14.
Chasing a sub-par 130 for the win, the 30-year-old assured WSF had no problems accomplishing the task in only 16 overs with eight wickets remaining. Head was ably supported by skipper Steve Smith, who went undefeated with 42 from 36 deliveries.
While Travis Head’s half-century was the highlight of WSF’s run chase, a good bowling performance in the first innings laid the groundwork for their easy victory. After winning the toss and deciding to field first, WSF limited LAKR to 129 in 18.4 overs.
Saurabh Netravalkar of the United States followed up on his great performance in the 2024 T20 World Cup, ending with 4/35 in 3.4 overs. He was well assisted by Glenn Maxwell (3/15) and Lockie Ferguson (2/31), as the WSF bowlers never let the LAKR hitters settle in.
It was Head’s first half-century in the competition, bringing his total to 87 runs at an average of 29 and a strike rate of over 164 in four matches.
Andre Russell breaks Travis Head’s bat into two
Russell bowled a pacy short-pitched delivery in the second over of their innings, breaking Head’s bat in two pieces as he attempted a pull shot.
The ball struck the upper half of the bat, leaving Head with only the handle as the remainder of the bat sailed to mid-wicket.
The unexpected encounter left Head clearly astonished, and his surprised reaction quickly went viral on social media.
“Was [pitch] on the slower side, took more spin than previous games. Nice to get a few away and nice to get a win. Nice to play the full fixture. Nice to get some luck and get away, it was nice to get a few away off the middle. [on the crowd] Good to feed off it, good to maximise when me and Smithy were going. Looking forward to the rest of the tournament,” Head said after guiding Washington Freedom to win.
With the win, WSF stayed unblemished, having won three games in a row with one No Result.