Mark Taylor, Travis Head and Michael Slater. Image Credits: X
Yet another chapter of the oldest rivalry in world cricket has been written down under as Australia has clinched the five-match Test series with a scoreline of 4-1 following a 5 wicket win in Sydney and one of the crucial cogs of their memorable win was Travis Head, who turned into an opner due to an injury to Usman Khawaja and grabbed the opportunity with both hands.
The batter scored a total of 629 runs in the series, out of which 608 came as an opener, taking him to the elite list of legendary Aussie openers to have scored the most runs in a single Ashes series. In the legendary list, he is joined by the former captain Mark Taylor and right-hand batter Michael Slater. Below is a brief look at the top-5.
Australian openers with the most runs in a single Ashes series
5. Bill Lawry, 1965/66 - 592 runs
During the 1965/66 home Ashes series, the left-handed opener was the highest-run getter of the series with 592 runs in 7 innings, averaging 84.57 with three centuries to his name.
He started the series with a gritty 166 (406) in Brisbane and continued his form into the MCG Test, scoring two fifties. Later on in the series, he got 119 (217) in Adelaide and 108 (256) in Melbourne in the final Test as the series was tied 1-1.
4. Travis Head, 2025/26 - 608 runs
Starting the 2025/26 Ashes as a middle-order batter, Head had to be promoted to the top of the order in the first Test in Perth due to an injury to Usman Khawaja, and the southpaw grabbed the opportunity with both hands, scoring a match-winning 123 (83) to run away with a tricky 205-run chase.
He was backed to open the innings for the rest of the series, and he went on to get two 150+ scores to end as the leading run-getter of the series with 629 runs. His 170 (219) and 163 (166) in Adelaide and Sydney, respectively, were both in a winning cause. Australia won the series 4-1.
3. Michael Slater, 1994/95 - 623 runs
The stylish right-hand opener started the home Ashes series of 1994/95 with 176 (244) in the first innings of the Brisbane Test to set up his team's win and followed it by two more hundreds in their 3-1 series win.
His 103 (236) in Sydney resulted in a draw and 124 (231) at the W.A.C.He came in a winning cause, and he ended as the leading run-scorer with 623 runs in 10 innings.
2. Arthur Morris, 1948 - 696 runs
In a rare instance when an Aussie teammate overshadowed Sir Don Bradman, the left-handed opener Arthur Morris grabbed headlines in Australia's memorable 4-0 series win in England in their tour of 1948. Despite starting the series with scores of 31 and 9 in the first match, he went on an incredible run, scoring 6 fifty-plus scores in the next 7 innings.
Out of the six fifty-plus scores, he also got a 105 at Lord's, 182 in the innings win in Leeds, and a 193 at the Oval as they clinched the series under Bradman's captaincy. Morris went on to score 3533 Test runs in his career, but this tour remains a highlight of his journey. He held the record in question for the next 41 years.
1. Mark Taylor, 1989 - 839 runs
Just months after making his Test debut, Mark Taylor was Australia's man man in their thumping series triumph of 4-0 margin in their tour of England in 1989. He started the series with 136 (315) and 60 (112) in Leeds and backed up the good start with four more fifties in the series at Lord's, Birmingham, Manchester and The Oval.
Notably, he also got a mammoth 219 (461) in their win by an innings and 180 runs in Nottingham, where they posted 602/6. He had an opening stand of 329 runs with Geoff Marsh in this Test. He ended the series with 839 runs at an average of 83.9 in 11 innings and still holds the record as an Aussie opener with the most runs in an Ashes series.
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