Travis Head will open when he's fit to play: George Bailey

George Bailey, Australia's chief selector, has confirmed that Travis Head will bat at the top order when he regains full fitness. This probably means Mitchell Marsh, who hit a century in a record partnership with David Warner against Pakistan, will bat lower down the order.

Head, who sustained a hand injury while batting in Australia’s fourth ODI against South Africa will join the squad in Delhi ahead of their ODI World Cup clash against the Netherlands.  

"Clearly, he (Travis Head) comes in at the top. He's been fantastic there for us and that's where he'll slot in. And then we'll just work out (the Playing XI) when it is, who we're playing, the surface and what you might need,” Bailey was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz.

Bailey stated that Head has made a huge progress and it "is okay" if he is batting down the line while making his comeback.

"It can be a six to eight-week injury. He's ticked all the boxes in terms of the four-week scan and the bone has healed, so that's all going well, and he's progressed really well through the week (since he started batting).

"But clearly the whole point of having him (in the WC squad) and carrying him to this point is not to then risk it by bringing him back early. So if it works out for that Dutch game, great. If it's a little bit further on, then that's okay,” Bailey added. 

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If Head plays and Marsh returns to his original No. 3 spot, Marcus Stoinis might be the one who will be excluded from the lineup. Speaking about the same, Bailey stated that Stoinis has been exceptional for the Kangaroos so far in the tournament.

"Stoin' brought a really great energy with his bowling and a couple of really key breakthroughs to get everyone up and going, and a nice catch as well,” he added.