But Marsh has only been keeping the seat warm for Head who suffered a broken hand in South Africa last month but was named in the World Cup squad despite being unavailable for the first part of the tournament.
Having made significant concessions to carry Head during his injury, caution will be taken not to rush the final stages of his recovery so he could be held back for the game against New Zealand on October 28.
“It can be a six to eight-week injury,” Bailey said. “He’s ticked all the boxes in terms of the four-week scan and the bone has healed, so that’s all going well, and he’s progressed really well through the week.
“But clearly the whole point of having him and carrying him to this point is not to then risk it by bringing him back early. So if it works out that it’s the Dutch game, great. If it’s a little bit further on, then that’s okay.”
Head has been prolific since returning to the ODI side in early 2022, averaging 60.84 with a strike rate of 119.14. He will also provide another useful spin-bowling option for Pat Cummins.
After losing their opening two matches, Australia’s World Cup has been revived by convincing wins over Sri Lanka and Pakistan. If they beat Netherlands, as they are expected to do despite the upsets seen so far, they could face a tournament-defining week with back-to-back matches against England and New Zealand before a somewhat more favourable run to end the group stages with games against Afghanistan and Bangladesh.