As Australia strengthened their hold on the Ashes with a commanding performance at the Adelaide Oval on Friday, Travis Head signed his name among cricket royalty, entering an elite group that includes Don Bradman after reaching a century in four straight Tests at the same venue.
Head became just the seventh hitter in Test history to score hundreds in four straight games at a single Australian ground on day three of the third Test against England. More importantly for Australian supporters, he became the second player to accomplish the record at Adelaide, where Head has already established an incredible legacy, after Michael Clarke.
Bradman at Melbourne, Wally Hammond at Sydney, Steven Smith at Melbourne, Clarke at Adelaide, and now Head, whose Adelaide run includes Test matches against the West Indies (twice), India, and England between 2022 and 2025, highlight the scope of the accomplishment.
Hundreds at an Australian venue in four straight Test matches:
Don Bradman (AUS), Melbourne (1928-1932)
Wally Hammond (ENG), Sydney (1928-1936)
Michael Clarke (AUS), Adelaide (2012-2014)
Steven Smith (AUS), Melbourne (2014-2017)
Travis Head (AUS), Adelaide (2022-2025)
The South Australian favorite, who was batting on his home field, reached his Ashes century in a remarkable way by lofting Joe Root clean down the ground. He then took off his helmet, kissed the grass, and saluted his wife and the audience in the bleachers. For Head, who subsequently acknowledged that scoring an Ashes hundred in Adelaide was a childhood fantasy, it was a very emotional event.
This was not the average Head innings that relied solely on aggression. Rather, he demonstrated maturity and self-control, persevering through challenging stages before picking up speed once established. With the hosts closing on 271 for 4 and a huge 356-run lead, his century off 146 balls put Australia in a dominant position and essentially retained the Ashes.
Head's domination in Adelaide is astounding. He has scored 175 and 38 not out against the West Indies in 2022, 119 against WI and 140 against IND in 2024, and now an undefeated century against England in his last four Test matches at the location. With the exception of a rain-affected draw against India at the Gabba, nine of his previous ten Test hundreds have resulted in Australian victory.
Travis Head in the Adelaide Oval's last four Test matches:
175 & 38* vs WI, 2022
119 vs WI, 2024
140 vs IND, 2024
10 & 142* vs ENG, 2025
After scoring hundreds in both the World Test Championship final and the ODI World Cup final, Head—who was already well-known as a big-match player—performed on the biggest stage once more. Adelaide saw another chapter in a career increasingly characterized by moments that mean most, with over 50,000 fans cheering him on.
