Forgotten batsman Usman Khawaja named Australia’s emergency reserve for South Africa tour

After many thought his Test cricket days were numbered, Usman Khawaja has been thrown a lifeline for Australia’s upcoming tour of South Africa.

James Pattinson is pushing hard for a return to the Test team. Picture: Getty Images

At a time when Justin Langer’s relationship with the players has come under scrutiny, the one player who spoke up has been placed on standby for a surprise reappearance.

Usman Khawaja has been named as the emergency reserve for the tour of South Africa, proving he is not the forgotten man of Australian cricket.

Khawaja is on standby should Will Pucovski’s shoulder not recover in time, or if there is an injury to another batsman.

But even if he isn’t added to the final squad, his return to the mix is noteworthy in the context of the microscope being put on Langer.

The only player who has publicly put his name to calling Langer out for his intensity as a coach was Khawaja, when in the Amazon documentary, The Test, he put it on the coach in a team meeting that players were “walking on egg shells around him.”

Usman Khawaja was a key player for Sydney Thunder in BBL10. Picture: Mark Kolbe/Getty Images

Khawaja’s absence from Australian teams since the 2019 Ashes has sparked speculation in some quarters that the pair had fallen out and the 44-Test star had his cards marked never to play again.

But the 34-year-old’s official status as next cab off the rank for South Africa is telling that while Langer might be hard-nosed and confrontational at times, he is not vindictive and doesn’t hold grudges when it comes to selection.

“The thing that keeps coming back are some of my exchanges with Usman Khawaja,” Langer told a News Corp podcast.

“We have got enormous respect and love for each other. I put that out not to disappoint anyone but it keeps coming back to this thing ‘oh, the boys were on egg shells’.

“But it was just after the boys had been beaten by India, I’d been in the job three months or so and I was getting to know the players, the players were getting to know me, I’m getting to know the support staff and there was huge scrutiny on the team.

“There was plenty of tension, we were just bowled for whatever it was on a flat wicket in Melbourne so yeah, there was a bit of tension around but it’s in the documentary and it’s all edited and that’s what they keep coming back to. That’s one of the challenges.”

With some lingering uncertainty over the fitness of Pucovski and David Warner (groin) heading to a tour of South Africa where no replacement players can be added once the team leaves Australia, it’s not beyond the realms that Khawaja could still be added, particularly when Matthew Wade wasn’t replaced in the squad by another batsman.

Meanwhile, former Australian captain Michael Clarke took aim at Australian players for talking behind Langer’s back instead of confronting him in person, as Khawaja did three years ago.

Sources within the Australian camp have complained that Langer’s intense style is wearing thin after three years in charge.

Clarke said he doesn’t believe Langer is a coach who would write a player off for expressing a negative opinion.

“If players feel this way, this is not the right way to go about it, this is going to cause chaos,” Clarke said on The Big Sports Breakfast.

It’s been a while since Khawaja has been seen at Test level. Picture: Ryan Pierse/Getty Images

“Go and speak to JL and speak to the senior players. A lot of the time it’s not what you say, it’s how you say it.

“I still think you can find a way to have that conversation … without getting a black mark and saying you’re not getting picked again.

“ … This behind closed doors and going to a journalist, source said is very weak.

“I hope that it hasn’t been the case, I hope it’s just a story creating a headline and a player hasn’t gone behind Lang’s back. I think it’s weak you don’t put the players name to it. I hope JL does find out who the player is and confronts him.”

PATTINSON STALKING SORE STARC FOR TEST SPOT

James Pattinson looks like being Australia’s first cab off the rank in South Africa should scans reveal there is any issue with Mitchell Starc’s knee.

Australian officials are confident Starc will be passed fit for the three-Test tour, but there are still no results in on the big fast bowler, who thought he’d get the knee checked out after two summers of experiencing soreness.

Starc won’t line-up for the Sydney Sixers in Saturday night’s semi-final in Canberra, but remains a chance for a cameo return for the final should the Magenta Men qualify, in a sign that the scan is likely just a precaution.

James Pattinson is waiting in the wings for a return to the Australian Test team. Picture: Getty Images

But it’s understood Pattinson will play a Sheffield Shield match for Victoria on February 12 against Queensland at the Gabba, which gives the fiery Bushranger a golden chance to push his case for a shock Test return.

There is a Shield game Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Starc could play in for NSW on February 19, but it would appear more likely selectors would want their starting trio to rest following such an arduous series against India.

Australia is taking four reserve fast bowlers to South Africa, with Mark Steketee joining Pattinson, Michael Neser and Sean Abbott in the squad.

Michael Neser is among four reserve fast bowlers in the Test squad. Picture: Getty Images

The fact all four will get a Shield game before departure is an ideal boost for selectors who will have no tour matches in South Africa to gauge a form guide.

Neser remains a chance to force his way into the attack on certain wickets and the Queenslander’s showdown against Pattinson at the Gabba two weeks before the team’s departure could be a telling audition.

But it’s understood Pattinson is in pole position to play his first Test in over a year should a change be made to the line-up in South Africa.

Pattinson has not played a Test since last year’s New Year’s Test at the SCG, and a rib injury suffered in a freak lawn mowing accident at his property ruled him out for pushing for the series-decider against India in Brisbane.

Mitchell Starc is still awaiting the results of scans on his knee. Picture: Getty Images

But Pattinson is a proven Test match performer, and a potentially frightening prospect on lightning fast South African wickets. However, the position remains Starc’s to lose and the Australian camp is adamant fitness won’t stand in the left-armer’s way.

Pattinson’s best chance of breaking in could be if selectors back-in a new philosophy of rotating their attack during the series, after national selector Trevor Hohns admitted that in hindsight, the panel may have pushed Starc, Cummins and Hazlewood too far against India.

Australia can’t afford to lose a Test in South Africa if they’re to qualify for the World Test Championship final, making selection decisions absolutely critical.