Whatever hope Pakistani-born opening batsman Usman Khawaja may have entertained of wearing an Australian baggy green Test cap in tomorrow's traditional Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) was dashed when Ricky Ponting declared himself fit.
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A final decision on the captain's fitness will be taken today before the team's customary family Christmas lunch but Ponting has made no secret of his keenness to play his 13th Test at the MCG which he hopes will be lucky.
With Australia desperately straining to rectify their recent dismal Test record of just three wins in their last nine Tests and two wins in five series, Khawaja's chances of making his debut against Pakistan were, in any event, in doubt with the highly rated Phil Hughes waiting in the wings well ahead of him.
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Ricky Ponting's availability for the Boxing Day Test means New South Wales' Usman Khawaja (above) will have to wait for a chance to become the first Asian-origin cricketer to play for Australia. pic/getty images |
Khawaja's family moved from Islamabad to Sydney when he was a toddler. Reluctant to discuss his religion or ethnicity, Usman Khawaja (Usie to his friend) would rather let his bat do the talking.
"If you try and think too far ahead you could be headed for disaster," says Khawaja, a qualified pilot who plays golf off a 10 handicap and is learning to play the guitar. He has scored 485 Sheffield Shield runs this season, including two centuries in the past two weeks at an impressive average of 60.62.
"I'd love to play for Australia," Khawaja says. "That's what I'm setting out to do that's what everyone in this team (New South Wales) wants u2014 and if it takes me a year or however long, I'll never stop trying."
According to his coach Matt Mott, the Sydney-based Khawaja is a player of "real class".
"He's been around the scene a couple of years, he's starting to believe he's good enough and has a laconic way of playing, which is great to watch.
"He's almost like a David Gower-type player who has a lot of time (to play his shots)."
Source: The Daily Telegraph
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