Why the Usman Khawaja story is all about 'timing'

1 year ago 98

The communicative of Usman Khawaja - a weapon batter making runs comparatively precocious successful his vocation - is thing caller successful the satellite of Test cricket.

While helium made his debut arsenic a 24-year-old against England astatine the SCG successful 2011, his spot successful the broadside was ne'er concrete.

He got different accidental successful the Sydney trial past January - again against England - erstwhile Travis Head tested affirmative for COVID-19 connected the eve of the match.

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He made back-to-back hundreds successful that game, and past continued his signifier into Australia's circuit of Pakistan, wherever helium scored 496 runs astatine an mean of 165.33 to gain himself the subordinate of the bid honour.

He had a coagulated commencement to the summer, posting scores of 65, 6, 62 and 45 against the Windies. He's recovered it tougher against the Proteas though, scoring conscionable 11, 2, and 1 earlier his latest sound successful Sydney.

Now 36, clip is not connected Khawaja's side, but according to erstwhile trial skipper Mark Taylor, that's cricket.

"Cricket is simply a crippled of timing there's nary uncertainty astir that - not conscionable timing with bat connected ball, it's timing successful presumption of erstwhile you marque runs and erstwhile you get opportunities," helium told Wide World of Sports.

"Usman is playing terrific cricket astatine the infinitesimal … and radical volition say, 'He should've played more' but you could accidental the aforesaid happening astir Mike Hussey, who didn't debut till helium was astir 30.

"There's a batch of cricketers who, erstwhile they got their accidental late, person made a batch of runs. That's conscionable the game.

"It conscionable shows Test cricket is not easy, (and) erstwhile you are doing well, what you've got to bash is what Usman is doing, and marque the astir of it."

After the washed-out 3rd time astatine the SCG - wherever helium was near stranded connected 195 not retired - Khawaja said it would beryllium "pretty harsh" for skipper Pat Cummins to state and contradict him the accidental astatine a maiden Test double-ton.

"I deliberation it'd beryllium beauteous harsh if helium bowled consecutive away. I don't deliberation that's going to happen," helium said.

"He's (Cummins) been making a fewer jokes … conscionable walking astir (saying) 'I've fto Deano (Elgar) cognize that we privation to spell retired and person a vessel consecutive away'.

"He's been successful the alteration country taking the mickey retired of me.

"We could spell retired determination and get a fewer much runs truly rapidly oregon we could state beauteous overmuch consecutive away. I'm not the skipper ... I don't marque those decisions."

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