Ashes 2025-26: Australian newspaper calls Travis Head ‘England’s Daddy’, jokes ’20,000 glum Poms handed 3-day holiday’

Ashes 2025-26: Australian newspaper calls Travis Head ‘England’s Daddy’, jokes ’20,000 glum Poms handed 3-day holiday’. (Photo source: The West Australian)

The Ashes 2025-26 opener in Perth finished inside two days, as Australia sealed a dominant eight-wicket victory. Meanwhile, The West Australian newspaper captured the mood with a cheeky front-page headline calling Travis Head “England’s Daddy”. The edition featured a large photo of Head alongside his wife and daughter, celebrating the left-hander’s historic century, and joking that “20,000 glum Poms have been handed a 3-day holiday.”

The build-up to the series opener had been dominated by England’s Bazball and the hype around their pace battery, who dismantled Australia for just 132 in their first innings. But within 24 hours, the story flipped. While England fans, thousands of whom had flown across continents for Day 3, prepared for what they hoped would be the decisive stretch of the Test, Head’s fourth-innings masterclass quashed their plans.

On the same day, Head’s wife Jessica posted a family picture from the airport earlier in the day, captioned, “Surprised someone at the airport.” Hours later, the same image took the front page of Western Australia.

In the match, promoted to open due to Usman Khawaja’s back spasms, Head produced one of the best knocks in Ashes history with 123 off 83 balls, including 16 boundaries and four sixes. His 69-ball century was the second-fastest by any batter in Ashes history and the quickest ever scored in the fourth innings of a Test.

Chasing 205 on a Perth surface, the southpaw and fellow World Cup hero Marnus Labuschagne (51* off 49) put England’s bowlers under pressure, stitching a 117-run stand that tore apart the opposition. Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, and Mark Wood struggled to contain the Australian assault. Though Mitchell Starc claimed Player of the Match honours for his 10 wickets, the media and fans widely viewed Head’s innings as the difference maker.

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