After twin comeback centuries in the fourth Ashes Test at Sydney Cricket Ground, Australian batsman Usman Khawaja proves to his detractors that he can...
Australia’s Usman Khawaja acknowledges the crowd after his unbeaten century on Day Four of the fourth Test on Saturday. Pic/Getty Images
Usman Khawaja joined rarefied company with back-to-back centuries in the Sydney Test on Saturday, but said he doesn’t expect it will be enough to keep his place in the Australia team for the final Ashes encounter.
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The stylish 35-year-old left-hander joined Australian batting greats Doug Walters and Ricky Ponting as scorers of two centuries in a Sydney Test with his 137 and unbeaten 101, though conceded it would not be enough to hold his place for the fifth Test in Hobart.
The tourists got to the close without losing a wicket for 30, with Zak Crawley on 22 not out and Haseeb Hameed on eight. They trail by 357.
Pakistan-born Khawaja only came into the side for isolating Covid victim Travis Head and he made full use of his opportunity with fairytale twin centuries.
Captain Pat Cummins has already guaranteed Head will regain his place for Hobart and there have been suggestions it will be at the expense of Marcus Harris, who again missed an opportunity to cement his berth in the Sydney Test.
No comparison
“To be totally honest, I’ve batted at No.5 in this Test match and it was a lot of fun. I got runs but you can’t really compare five to opening,” he said.
“It’s like apples and oranges. I know because I’ve done both of them. I came in here for Travis Head, he’s had a great series and I know the selectors have made a lot of tough decisions in this series and I don’t really expect it to be any different because I scored back-to-back tons.
“It’s just the way it is. All I’ve done is I’ve had an opportunity for Australia, scored some runs which I am grateful for. The hunger is still there. I’ve shown that I can still score runs at this level if an opportunity does present itself in the future.”
Khawaja has delighted cricket watchers with his fluent strokeplay and has been the major reason why England face an against-the-odds challenge of chasing down 388 runs in the final innings on Sunday’s final day.
Khawaja’s unbeaten ton came off just 131 balls with 10 fours and two sixes and he reached triple figures with a powerful pull shot through mid-wicket.
‘It’s special’
“I always wanted to score a century in both innings in first-class cricket and have never done it, but it’s just a nice one to tick off,” Khawaja said.
“It puts the team in a position where hopefully we can try win a Test match tomorrow. It all worked out pretty well, it doesn’t always happen in life, in cricket, it’s special.”
It is his 10th Test century, and third against England—all of which have come at the SCG. The only other Australian cricketer with three Ashes centuries at the SCG is the legendary Victor Trumper.
The languid Khawaja has in one Test scored more runs than all of England’s batsmen apart from captain Joe Root.
He toyed with the England bowling with his hundred flowing off 138 balls, laced with 10 fours and two sixes. He had solid support from Green, who registered his second Test half-century with a confidence-boosting 74 before he top-edged Jack Leach to Joe Root.
Alex Carey surprisingly came out to bat and was out first ball to Leach, signalling the long-awaited declaration by skipper Pat Cummins. Leach finished with 4-84 off 21.5 overs. Khawaja and Green rebuffed England’s efforts after the loss of key batsmen David Warner, Marnus Labuschagne and Steven Smith to have the Australians at 86 for four.
Smith again failed to get going in a 31-ball stay and was bowled for 23 after he was late on the shot from a Leach skidder. So far in the series, Smith has scored a total of 217 runs after scoring 93 in the second Adelaide Test.
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