It is incumbent upon all parties involved to reveal what was said to Usman Khawaja in that room at Lord’s. The Australian batsman was once again the target of abuse, having already faced vitriol from Ollie Robinson at Edgbaston
Usman Khawaja walks through the Long Room during Australia’s training session at Lord’s recently. Pic/Getty Images
As a Playing Member of the Marylebone Cricket Club since 1996, I have been in the very spot where Usman Khawaja was allegedly verbally abused in the Long Room at Lord’s. Given the proximity of players to members of the public, it’s astonishing that such an unsavoury incident has never occurred before. Make no mistake—MCC members we may be but at the end of the day that alone is no guarantee of good manners.
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When humans, alcohol, patriotic fervour and sport collide in a small room, all the privilege in the world cannot guarantee basic courtesies. It may be an uncomfortable truth, but there can be no shying away from calling out hypocrisy when it hides behind the façade of faux elitism.
I have fond memories of elite cricket circles in England, including at Oxford University, MCC, The Arabs, John Paul Getty’s XI, The Duke/Duchess of Norfolk’s XI etc at places like The Parks, Arundel Castle and Lord’s. These include overseas tours representing MCC at historic venues in India like the Brabourne Stadium. These memories are replete with poignant reminders of how fortunate I was to be invited into these august circles, but also the immense responsibility it bestowed upon me to honour these institutions in the way I conducted myself. The Long Room is one such place I never ever took it for granted. It still leaves me awestruck and breathless to feel the weight of history in that room, whether it was walking out to bat or as a spectator in blazer and egg ’n bacon tie.
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Genteel atmosphere in India
It was similar in India where I was utterly humbled by the genteel atmosphere of yesteryear at places like CCI and the Bombay Gymkhana. Clubs like these clearly position themselves as being elitist (let’s be honest here) but surely with that privilege comes a responsibility to safeguard the traditions of the game that hark back to its roots as The Gentleman’s Game. What we witnessed at Lord’s on Sunday was a betrayal of that guardianship that is bestowed upon MCC Members like myself.
For this reason, I think it is incumbent upon all parties involved to actually come out and reveal what was said to Khawaja. There is already much conjecture; the obvious suspicions are floating around, given that it was the hapless Khawaja who was once again the target of abuse, having already been part of Ollie Robinson’s vitriol that not only went unpunished by the ICC, but was stoutly defended by his own team and coach. It creates a precedent that emboldens cowards in suits to behave similarly, hiding behind pathetic excuses like “passion, theatre, heat-of-the-moment.” If Robinson’s actions on the field were almost glorified, is it any wonder then that it provides permission for some spoilt, over-indulged idiot to think it’s de rigeur in the Long Room too? Is that passion, is that the sort of theatre that the England team justified in Edgbaston as being a heat-of-the-moment reaction? Khawaja barely glanced at Robinson when he told him to “* off you f-ing p***k” so what was said in the Long Room that pushed the envelope?
MCC and Cricket Australia need to be transparent, rather than hide behind outdated notions of privacy that only applies to the elite. Would there be privacy and secrecy and discreet diplomacy if it was personal abuse from someone in the non-members section? If it was as bad as they claim, then let’s name and shame the culprits. It’s the only way to make people realise that you can’t hide behind elitism when you behave poorly.
It’s time to change
Players take note—if you expect respect from spectators, be it from the Mound Stand, Hollies Stand, car park or the members section—be the change you want to see. Khawaja is a fine role model, but is he the exception rather than the rule? Players and administrators cannot expect beer-swilling yobbos in the cheap seats to be held accountable unless the players themselves and people like me in the Long Room are held to an equal or higher standard. Otherwise, as Groucho Marx famously said, “I refuse to join any club that would have me as a member.”
Michael Jeh is a Brisbane-based former first-class cricketer
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