BGT: 'Reaction went too far,' says Travis Head on Mohammed Siraj’s send-off

Adelaide: Travis Head was bowled after a sparkling 140 but he wasn't prepared for the send-off Mohammed Siraj gave him, the pacer pointing to the Australian dressing room. Head, who too gave back a mouthful, felt Siraj went "far" and that he expected a "better reaction."      

"I actually just said, 'well bowled', and then when he pointed me in the sheds," said Head in post-day comments. "I had my reaction as well, but I don't want to give it too much air time. I feel like the way I play the game, I would like a better reaction. I was surprised at the reaction in terms of the situation of the game and the lead up, and there was no confrontation leading up to it. I felt like it was probably, yeah, a little bit far at the time, and that's why I'm disappointed in the reaction that I gave back, but I'm also going to stand up for myself."

Head went on to say Australia wouldn't do that.

"I'd like to think in our team that we wouldn't do that. That's not how I'd like to play the game, and I feel like my team-mates are the same, and if I'd seen that in those circumstances, I'd probably call it out, which I did."

Head maintained Siraj's wasn't a one-off incident in this series and that he has had conversations with others as well.

"I'll leave those conversations that I've had with individuals around that. Like I said, I feel like the way I would like to play the game, and I guess the respect shown for myself and I hope my team-mates, I would feel like I would hold a high expectation of my team-mates as well in the way we conduct ourselves and the way we go about things. I can't speak much for India, but like I said, I'm going to call that in certain situations."

India's bowling coach Morne Morkel tried to play down the incident, saying such moments are always around in a big series.    

"Siraj is the type of player that gives 100% when ball in hand," Morkel said.

"I think that is the character that he brings to the bowling unit. He'll always run in all day no matter what the scoreboard says. And I think in a big series like that, you're always going to have moments like this where, you know, when it's a sort of, I wouldn't say make or break sort of situation, but when a session or the game is potentially sort of on the line, we'll have moments like that. And they're two cricketers that play the game hard, they play the game tough, but I'm pretty sure after the game they'll be best of mates."