Travis Head eyeing best Test chance yet

Eye-catching performances with bat and ball for Australia A in 50-over and four-day formats could see the South Australian land a Test debut in the United Arab Emirates against Pakistan later this year.

But the allrounder isn't about to let the situation overwhelm him after admitting that may have been the case when those opportunities arose in the past.

Head is only 24 but has long been touted as Test match material after taking over the captaincy of his state as a 21-year-old.

Despite showing his class in short-form cricket for Australia during 39 ODI and 16 Twenty20 appearances, the left-hander is the first to admit he hasn't made the most of what he describes as small windows of opportunity to earn a Test cap.

Head also bowls handy offspin and could play as a second or even third spinner in what will be a new-look attack missing injured pair Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins.

With suspended trio Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft out of the equation for October's tour of the UAE and rival spinning allrounder Glenn Maxwell not selected to tour India, Head knows his time is now.

"In the past there's probably been small opportunities, not as many as there are now, but gaps where if I did string some scores together there may have been an opportunity," he said.

"I want to be in all three formats of the game ... but I'm not going to over-complicate it or think too much.

"In the past I did that when I was bit younger and didn't quite crack it and missed that opportunity."

Head now has ample scope to impress in a one-day series against India A and South Africa A, followed by two four-day clashes with India A.

The conditions are likely to mirror those in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, where the Pakistan Cricket Board have steered away from day-night fixtures in an effort to best exploit Australia's struggles with spin.

"There's opportunity for fast bowlers, spin bowlers, batters. It's a big tour, an exciting month ahead," Head said.

Australian Associated Press