Travis Head has offered an honest assessment of Australia’s collapse in Gqeberha in the second ICC World Test Championship Test against South Africa.  

While Head's slow-burn 121 in the second innings stood out as a highlight in Australia's heavy loss, it stressed on a persistent issue across recent matches - Australia’s dependence on lone-ranger batting performances rather than collective team efforts.

"We've spoken as a group going into this series that we've sort of had one individual each time, but we haven't been able to get that collective batting day that we would desire as a team," Head said, calling on the team's top order to fix a troubling trend ahead of the final Test in Cape Town.

Despite boasting individual contributors, such as Cameron Green’s efforts against Bangladesh, Matt Renshaw’s 190 in Durban, and Head’s own century at St George’s Park, the Aussies have failed to register two fifty-plus individual scores in the same innings across their last four Tests.

"Renners (Renshaw) was outstanding last week, and that's what does win you games. Individual performance can win you games, but as a collective, more supportive roles around that would go a long way."

Furthermore, in their four recent Tests, only four 50-plus partnerships have involved two top-five batters. Instead, four of Australia's top nine partnerships on the tour so far have featured frontline bowlers. 

"It's something that the team's been really good at over a long period of time, is being able to build substantial partnerships to win games of cricket.

"We just haven't been able to find that in the last couple of months. It's very hard to put a finger on why. We're playing some exceptional attacks in some trying conditions. But it's not a lack of trying."

The 32-year-old dismissed suggestions that batting position changes complicate individual plans.

"Batting's batting – I don't see any difference in one and five," Head noted.

"For me, it's the same process. It's a red ball still coming down. Wherever you bat in the order, it's still the same process.

"You've got to try to have your craft going as well as you can over and over and over again."

Still at the top of the WTC table, Australia will play the final Test of the series against South Africa at Newlands from 27 October.