Australia v India: Usman Khawaja will be on call for unexpected Test recall
Usman Khawaja has been left out of the conversation for a Test recall but says he’ll be ready to help his country should selectors reach out.
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Australian cricket’s forgotten man Usman Khawaja says he’s ready to step into the breach if selectors issue an SOS in response to their top-order crisis.
Khawaja averages 52.97 in Test matches on home soil and also has a record in pink ball cricket the equal of Steve Smith.
But the 33-year-old was left out of the Australia A squad, with Ben McDermott called in as Will Pucovski’s replacement for the dress rehearsal tour game on Friday at the SCG.
Khawaja could still be a late call up given he could transfer straight into the Test bubble from the BBL bubble he’s in preparing for the Sydney Thunder’s Saturday night opener against the Melbourne Stars.
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At this stage Khawaja has heard nothing from selectors, but if a call did come, the left-hander says he has the experience to walk calmly into the pressure cooker of an Indian Test series.
“No, not yet. I’m just going about my Big Bash stuff at the moment,” said Khawaja.
“I don’t really listen too much to what’s been said around the traps. I just keep my head down and concentrate on what’s ahead of me and not worry about the things I can’t control.
“Obviously these are decisions that are up to selectors. For me it’s just about making sure I’m ready for that first Stars game, because that’s the only thing I’ve got ahead of me that’s certain right now.
“(I would be ready if called). You’ve done it for long enough, you know what your processes are and what you need to do. If the opportunity came along you’d always be ready to take it.”
Khawaja is looking forward to combining forces again with the man who helped save his backyard from becoming an overgrown jungle.
There is a tight bond between Khawaja and Thunder recruit Ben Cutting, and the presence of the big-hitting all-rounder down the order is one of the reasons why Khawaja believes this is possibly the most balanced line-up the Thunder has ever fielded.
Cutting is a man who answers the call, even when it’s a DYI job in the backyard where it’s gardening gloves not batting gloves that are required.
“I was like, ‘man, I’ve got this serious backyard issue.’ Because I’ve been away so much, since we moved in there it’s turned into a jungle. It was like the Amazon,” said Khawaja.
“I was like, ‘I can’t do this on my own. We ripped it up, it took us about two and a half days, ripping it up and mulching it down.
“I live on a bit of a slope, so we had to take all the soil down the bottom. It was quite tough work.
“Cuttsy’s a legend for helping me out doing that. I think I made us some dinner to say thank you. My backyard looks schmick now.”
Khawaja says Cutting can be just as effective on the field.
“He’s a tremendous player. Obviously he can hit a big ball. He’s a great striker. He can bowl, he can field, and it’s something we’ve lacked since the beginning I’ve been at Thunder is a big power hitter down the bottom,” he said.
“We had Dre Russ (Andre Russell) for a couple of years but the last couple of years we’ve lacked that really big hitter that can come out at the back end of the game and really put some pressure on teams.
“I think he’s going to be a big inclusion for us moving forward.”
‘SENSIBLE THING TO DO’: JUST TELL JOE HE’S PLAYING
Adam Gilchrist believes the last man into the Test team should be the first one chosen – Joe Burns.
The form slump engulfing Burns has become a massive headache for Australia, but Gilchrist says he would go the other way and simply tell the Queenslander his spot is safe, a week out from the first Test.
Burns is facing the prospect of a high-stakes bat-off against Marcus Harris in Friday night’s pink-ball tour match at the SCG, however Gilchrist says selectors should instead back their incumbent opener by telling him it’s a practice game rather than a selection trial.
“That may be the sensible thing to do. To say, ‘don’t worry, you’re going to walk out there in Adelaide,’” Gilchrist said at Wednesday’s Fox Cricket Big Bash League launch.
“Now go and gain some exposure against (Jasprit) Bumrah and whoever the Indians serve up under lights.’ I think that’d be the sensible thing to do, personally.
“Just to let him clear any doubts out and let him know he’s got the backing. He’s not playing a trial game, he’s just having a practice game to try and sharpen up for Adelaide.”
Playing Burns in the tour game against India on Friday is now a double-edged sword for Australia. If he makes runs, Australia’s problems are solved, but if Burns fails again it only deepens the dilemma.
Which is why Gilchrist would take the stress away for Burns and let him relax following a run of seven scores under 30 to start the summer.
“I’d like to know if I’m in the team. If I’m in the team I’d play the (tour) game,” Gilchrist said. “And that may well be a conversation they’ve had.”
Gilchrist said he understands those screaming for selectors to pick young gun all-rounder Cameron Green in Adelaide, but maintains the trust and confidence of the Australian dressing room is a delicate thing to balance.
It’s why incumbents who have done the job in the baggy green can’t simply be cast out the moment there’s a new kid on the block, particularly when the team has been winning.
Gilchrist said Australian coach Justin Langer is very strong on these principles, and that’s why he believes the places of Travis Head, Matthew Wade and even Burns should be protected for Adelaide, despite the emergence of Green.
“It’s so precious and valuable to a playing group and the environment that you’re living in and working in and sharing with everyone around that team set-up, it can really affect the whole mood,” Gilchrist said.
“If there’s a strong message of trust and consistency with honest selection, it can really build nice momentum and I know Justin values that as significant.
“He was the beneficiary of that in his career and I think the players really have responded to him in his tenure as coach along those lines. And Tim Paine operates with the same mindset.
“Stats can be quite compelling and revealing, but there are things that you can’t measure and present to people that are so valuable like that. That’ll feature significantly in selections I imagine.”
HARVEY: DON’T BE AFRAID TO GIVE YOUTH A CHANCE
– Robert Craddock
Former teenage cricket wonder boy Neil Harvey has a message for Australian cricket … if you are good enough, you are old enough.
Harvey, 92, who had a decorated 79-match Test career after touring England with Don Bradman’s Invincibles in 1948 as a 19-year-old, made a rare public appearance via a Zoom conference to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Tied Test at the Gabba in 1960.
A former national selector, Harvey was at his straight-shooting best when asked about the merits of plumping for youth as Australia contemplates elevating batsman Will Pucovski, 22, and 21-year-old all-rounder Cameron Green into next week‘s first Test against India.
“Age-wise, it does not matter,’’ Harvey said.
“Having been through the whole business myself and going to England with Bradman’s Invincibles at 19 I can say if I can do it, anyone can do it.
“If you are good enough you can do it. If you have the ability, pick ‘em. It is as simple as that. I proved it can be done. I was lucky to play with a great team. They were the greatest blokes I have ever known. I learnt how to play cricket and how to behave myself.’’
The Tied Test, one of only two matches in Test history to finish with that result, is regarded as one of the greatest games of cricket ever played, with the extraordinary goodwill between the Australian and West Indies sides so strong that several have remained in contact to this day.
Harvey said while players were essentially amateur in his day they would still hold their own against modern players.
“In our day they did not train like they did today — no gym work. Before the game you would practice two or three days a week. It‘s different today but we were no worse off. I am sure we could play as well as they do today.’’
Harvey still has great memories of the final pressurised moments of the Tied Test when West Indian firebrand Wes Hall delivered the final over in which three wickets fell.
“Sitting in the dressing room we were all instructed not to move. None of us moved the last seven or Eight balls in that Tests. I don’t think anything did as much for Australian cricket as that series.’’
Harvey on Wednesday sat beside his old mate Alan Davidson, one of Australia‘s greatest all-rounders, who feels that Australia should not expect too much of Green too soon.
“I was not an all-rounder in the true sense until my mid-20s and I was lucky to play with some great cricketers like Ray Lindwall and Keith Miller who were always happy to offer advice,’’ Davidson said.
“I have not seen much of (Green) but you people need time. It may take two or three years but in that time you accumulate knowledge. It grows on you.’’
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