Standing at the other end to the greatest show in cricket, Jake Weatherald could not help but be awestruck by the assault Travis Head launched on England on Saturday.
The Northern Territorian had been sledged by England’s players when he walked out on a pair beside the superstar, questioned as to whether he would be protected from the first ball by Head after a disastrous opening a day prior.
Felled by a jaffa from Jofra Archer for a second ball duck on debut, Weatherald produced a classy 23 in a 75-run opening stand with Head that put Australia on the path to a famous victory at Perth Stadium in a first Test match he will never forget.
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Weatherald is now in the unique position of have opened with two different partners in one Test, and neither of them a specialist in the position, due to the back issue which precluded Usman Khawaja from batting in his usual position.
As Head saw off the first over of the second innings, a noteworthy achievement given the score in the first three innings of the match was 1-0 after his own duck and Zak Crawley’s failures, the English team pondered why he did not face the first ball.
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“It was actually pretty friendly. It was more around Marnus not taking the first ball with my first innings,” he said.
“Which I agreed with. I was like, ‘Yeah. You’re right, boys, he probably should have taken it for me’. It was all fun and games. (But) I don’t think they were too worried about me, to be fair. I think they were more worried about Heady and the rest of the boys going in. So (it) was just a bit of casual stuff, nothing too vicious.”
When Weatherald fell on Friday afternoon, it prompted queries as to why he had faced the new ball. Sam Kostas faced the first ball on debut at the Boxing Day Test last year, but Nathan McSweeney was shielded by Khawaja in Perth.
The Darwin-raised cricketer said he and Khawaja did not actually discuss who should take the first ball prior to the bizarre circumstances that unfolded when the veteran was unable to bat due to the time he had spent off field receiving treatment.
“Me and Uzzie hadn’t really talked about it, so we didn’t really have much of an idea and then it never eventuated,” he said.
“And then obviously Marnus came out and said, ‘Would you like take it?’ And I was just like, ‘I just want to get this over and done with.’ So I just said, ‘I’ll take it on.’
“If you’re an opener, you’ve got to figure out ways to do it. It’s just a part of being an opening batsman, so there wasn’t too much of a concern. And it obviously had nothing to do with me getting out.
“No doubt, if I had not faced the first ball, there’s still a chance I’ll make the same mistake. I’m not too cautious about what happening. It is hard with everyone (being) different. Some people love taking it and some people don’t like taking it all. But I was pretty lucky that Marnus was just pretty chilled out with it.”
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He said watching the conviction with which Head approached the task of pursuing the 205 run target was a confidence boost and helped him settle into his own innings.
“It was amazing to watch … . and I’ve been quite vocal about being very envious of Trav and the way he goes about his batting,” Weatherald said.
“He walks out there with an ability to be clear and calm and to put pressure on the bowlers, no matter what the situation is. And to make a hundred when the high score after that was just over 50 (is incredible).
“It’s an amazing skill to walk out there and shut out the external noise. Obviously, the Barmy Army was very vocal and 200 felt a long way away with the fact that we only made 140 odd in the first inning.
“So it was one of those things that the way he walks out and bats and just has complete freedom is something that I envy a lot, and it’s something that gave me a lot of confidence at the other end.”
Weatherald earned a Baggy Green on the back of some strong domestic form over the past two years and said that he had loved the chance to play at international level while embracing the spotlight that comes with it.
“You get bits of both (worlds). You get good recognition and bad recognition, especially if you have a bad day,”
he said.
“But I think this is the best part about playing Test cricket. You want to be in the limelight. You want to be doing things that people notice. That’s a part of playing for Australia.
“You want to represent your country the best way you possibly can and people are emotional, and after the first day you walk away (feeling) a bit disappointed and a bit upset, and people definitely know about it.
“But at the same time, when you contribute to a team winning, they’re there to back you up, and they get around you. So I think it’s a cool thing to be a part of, the fact that you can ride the emotions of the Australian public and obviously you feel the real force of the English as well too. So I’m getting the best of both worlds.”
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Weatherald said he did not feel too worried by what had occurred amid the confusion circumstances with Khawaja.
“It sort of didn’t really faze me that much, to be honest,” he said.
“I probably have got the age, and with the experience I have now of playing a lot of first class cricket, that you go through those things a little bit.
“But once you start the Test match, it just feels like another game. And I was excited to walk out with Heady. I knew it was going to be a good opportunity for us to put some pressure back on straight away, too. So it’d be cool to go there with Uzzie as well, but I’m sure they’ll come in due time.”
As fearsome as Archer and the English attack were on the first day, the Tasmanian domestic representative said he felt comfortable that he had the attributes to be able to put them back under pressure, which he managed in conjunction with Head on Saturday. Their partnership has prompted debate as to whether it should be the one Australia uses from now on.
“To walk out there and to compete with them is like a dream of mine,” he said.
“To go out there and continually challenge myself is something I want to continue to do forever. But in terms of obviously getting through some sort of a bit of time there and spending a little bit of time to crease, it obviously gives you a bit of comfort that your game stands up and you can compete at that level and put some pressure back on the bowlers.
“So I think from that point of view, I’ve taken a bit of confidence out of that. But apart from that, it’s mainly around that I’ve got to believe that no matter how fast they’re bowling, that I’ve got a way that I can be successful and put some pressure back on.”
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