Usman Khawaja turns 38 during the Gabba Test. History shows he’ll struggle to improve

Before the Border-Gavaskar Trophy earlier this year, Usman Khawaja sat down for an interview with ABC Sport at a Cricket Australia content day.

“Is this the last summer for Usman Khawaja?” a reporter asked Australia’s opening batsman.

“Shit, you’ve come out hard, haven’t you?” Khawaja said. “Why didn’t anyone ask me this 10 years ago?”

It was put to Khawaja that, “Well, you turn 38 in December”.

Having set the reporter up beautifully, Khawaja put away a half-volley to the boundary.

“Oh, so you’re being ageist!” Khawaja said with a grin. “I’m just enjoying it. Look at this face. It’s still fresh.”

Usman Khawaja ahead of the Gabba Test. Credit: Getty Images

If the Gabba Test makes it to a fifth day, on Wednesday, Khawaja will celebrate his birthday in front of his adopted home crowd.

To casual observers, 38 may seem like just another birthday, but cricket fans know it’s not an age usually associated with a Test player.

This week, Khawaja signalled his desire to play through to next summer’s Ashes series against England. History, however, shows few cricketers get better after 35 – let alone when they start nudging 40.

Allan Border and Steve Waugh are the only Australian Test batsmen in the past 40 years to play as 38-year-olds. They both retired at that age, too.

Allan Border and Steve Waugh both played – and retired from – Test cricket at 38.Credit: Dallas Kilponen

If Khawaja does make it to next year’s Ashes, he will be the first 39-year-old Test batsman to play for Australia since Bob Simpson (1977 and 1978).

Khawaja’s Test record since he turned 35 is remarkable. Dropped in 2019, he made two centuries against England in his return Test in January 2022 at the SCG.

No Australian Test player has made more runs than Khawaja after turning 35. His 2598 runs at 50.94 is slightly more than Waugh (2554 at 53.2) and Border (2473 at 42.63).

His batting resurgence has been hugely important for Australia, but is it finally on the way down?

As a 35-year-old, Khawaja averaged 71.93, before another profitable year at the age of 36, when he had an average of 53.13.

But as a 37-year-old, Khawaja has made just 350 runs at 25. His last nine Test scores read: 10, 33, 28, 16, 11, 8, 4, 13 and 9 not out.

“He’s looking fantastic in the nets,” Pat Cummins told reporters on Friday. “I thought last week he looked really sharp. Like most of the guys, he’d be wanting to score a few more runs. He had a good lead-in to this series. He loves batting at the Gabba and knows it really well.”

Khawaja has already lasted longer – in terms of candles on his cake – than many greats of the game. His stints out of the Test team kept him fresh and made his return to international level even sweeter.

A batsman in their 30s peeling off runs can give the illusion they will be great forever. The likes of Mark Waugh, Adam Gilchrist, Ricky Ponting, Mike Hussey and David Warner all retired before they were 38.

Only 20 Australians have batted in Tests at age 38, with just three averaging more than 40. One of those, unsurprisingly, was Sir Donald Bradman.

“If everything is going well there is no reason why I would not want to play another summer in Australia,” Khawaja said this week. “My body is good, my mind is good, and I am still hitting the ball well.”

Older batsmen are aware that reflexes eventually get slower and the eyes aren’t as sharp. Hunger and desire are also factors to consider for older players who might want to do other things in life than stand on cricket fields.

As 37-year-olds, Mark Waugh made 80 runs at 20, Matt Hayden managed 341 runs at 28.41, while Adam Voges’ brilliant but short Test stint faded, making 30 runs at 7.5 after averaging 90 in the 12 months prior as a 36-year-old.

The two who did play on as 38-year-olds – Waugh and Border – were actually quite successful in that 12-month period. As a 38-year-old, Border hit 547 runs at 36.46, while Waugh made 662 runs at 82.75, which shows it can be done.

Border and Waugh were more consistent than Khawaja, averaging 45 and 47 respectively as 37-year-olds.

Ponting looked like breaking the mould and playing into his 40s after making scores of 62, 60, 134, 7, 221 and 60 not out in his first six Test innings as a 37-year-old.

However, his next 11 innings yielded just 178 runs at an average of 16.18, prompting Ponting to retire in December 2012, 16 days shy of his 38th birthday.

The intriguing one to watch will be Steve Smith, arguably Australia’s best since Bradman, who turns 36 in June and hasn’t made a hundred in his last 24 innings.

Like Khawaja, Smith hasn’t posted a decent score this series, with returns of 0, 17 and 2. His dismissal in Adelaide, caught down the leg side, was unlucky.

It would be foolish to write off a champion player, but Smith would know the difficulty of being able to perform deep into his 30s. If Smith didn’t retire, he will celebrate his 38th birthday just before the 2027 Ashes series in the UK.

“You look at his record and stats would suggest [a good score] is not far around the corner,” Cummins said of Smith.

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