Wowza, indeed: Travis Head's latest symphony of destruction

"Wowza..."That was Steve Smith's one-word reaction to what we'd all witnessed from Travis Head at Perth Stadium.

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Travis Head - The great problem solver (Getty)

(Getty)

Not in the moment, but nearly an hour later. And he still looked suitably awestruck, and suitably amazed with what Head had just pulled off.

There will be thousands of words said and written about the South Australian left-hander's latest knock for a long time to come. But the one-word exclamation from the Australian captain though summed it up best. Especially on the day when Australia had wrapped up a stunning first Test victory, having gone from being backs to the wall to eight-wicket winners in the space of two sessions. All courtesy the latest Travis Head symphony of destruction. Aided also by England's own self-destruction with the bat.

By now, we've become accustomed to Head scripting extraordinary centuries in the grandest of settings. Whether it's the World Test Championship final or the 50-over World Cup final. But what he produced in Perth on Saturday was probably his most incredible statement piece to date.

In every way possible. Firstly, the enormity of the situation. Starting with this being the opening Test of the most heavily built-up Ashes series. Then an English outfit who were touted by many to be the first real Ashes threat for this Australian team on home soil. Also an England side that had called the shots for large portions of the Test match, and probably given themselves the best chance in 40 years to take a 1-0 lead.