Head's innings was 'out of this world' - Smith
- Published
Australia stand-in captain Steve Smith hailed Travis Head's explosive 69-ball century that won Australia the first Ashes Test on Saturday as one of the best he had ever seen.
It was the third-fastest ton ever by an Australian and powered the hosts to an eight-wicket victory over England in Perth.
Head surged to three figures off just 69 balls, crunching 12 fours and four sixes after being elevated to the top of the order in place of the injured Usman Khawaja.
It matched the 69-ball ton hit by David Warner against India in 2012 and is third only to Adam Gilchrist's 57-ball blitz against England in 2006 and Jack Gregory versus South Africa more than a century ago.
The fastest century of all time is Brendon McCullum's 54-ball fireworks in Christchurch against Australia in 2016.
"It's got to be right up there. Wow. That was incredible to witness," said stand-in skipper Smith.
"That innings from Travis Head was out of this world. He played some outrageous shots and even when he mistimed a few, they still seemed to find the gap.
"It was just one of those days where everything went his way, and he made the absolute most of it to get us home."