Pakistan v Australia Test series: Usman Khawaja set Test record for most reverse sweeps in an innings
THREE decades after Allan Border sent a rival to purgatory for playing a reverse sweep, the Godfather of do-or-die batting has marvelled at Usman Khawaja’s stunning mastery of cricket’s most death-defying shot.
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THREE decades after Allan Border sent a rival to purgatory for playing a reverse sweep, the Godfather of do-or-die batting has marvelled at Usman Khawaja’s stunning mastery of cricket’s most death-defying shot.
Khawaja played an extraordinary 21 reverse sweeps in his heroic match-saving hundred against Pakistan in Dubai, which according to CricVis is an all-time Test match record.
Border played a key role in the most infamous reverse sweep in history during the 1987 World Cup final when he brought himself onto bowl and inspired a brain snap from England captain Mike Gatting that proved the decisive turning point in a fabled Australian triumph.
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England were cruising to Cup glory in front of 100,000 people in Kolkata when Gatting got down on his haunches and butchered it all with one bizarre moment of daredevilry.
Even in the T20 age the reverse sweep is still seen as the epitome of high-risk batting yet Khawaja executed the shot as his staple against a high-quality attack on a deteriorating fifth day pitch over a marathon nine-hour and 302-ball stay at the crease.
Border, Australia’s greatest backs-to-the-wall captain who scored 16 of his 27 Test centuries in draws and forged a reputation as the ultimate match-saver, says Khawaja’s audacity under pressure will go down as one of the most remarkable innings ever played.
“Usman was just phenomenal the way he went about the whole process,” Fox Cricket commentator Border told News Corp Australia.
“I’ve always got my heart in my mouth when he’s playing the reverse sweep but when you talk to him about it, he’s just as comfortable playing that shot as the forward defence because he feels as though he’s less likely to offer a bat pad opportunity.
“It’s one thing when you’re setting a target and you play the reverse sweep to stuff up their fielding and bowling options. But in a rear-guard situation, where you basically want to keep wickets in hand and the run-rate doesn’t matter, it was an extraordinary way to do it.
“I’d reckon it’s the world record for the most amount of reverse sweeps played in a Test match innings and I can’t remember him missing one. It was quite incredible.”
Pakistan’s leg-spinning weapon Yasir Shah has only played 29 Test matches yet ranks inside the top 10 for most fourth innings wickets by a spinner in the history of the game.
Surviving that remarkable examination has catapulted Khawaja into the International Cricket Council’s top 10 Test batting rankings for the first time in his career.
Among Border’s most famous performances was an unbeaten 146 off 334 balls which saved Australia in the fourth Test of the 1985 Ashes after they’d given up a 225-run lead.
He bettered that on Boxing Day of the same year when he made 163 and shepherded No.11 Dave Gilbert through 65 deliveries to clinch a draw from nowhere.
Border did so with his sheer bloody-mindedness at the crease and says the Great Escape in Dubai proves Khawaja possesses the same qualities.
He says it will once and for all dispel the notion that Khawaja is a lazy cricketer.
“The pressure he was under going into the game when everyone was talking about his record in the sub-continent, that he’s a bit lazy, this and that attitude wise and all the rest of it. It’s all put to bed now and he can just get on and play,” said Border.
“I know for a fact he’s lost a lot of weight, he’s got himself very fit and just the concentration required to do what he did is just a phenomenal performance.
“If you bat for over 100 overs you’re not a lazy player. He might look casual. But he’s not. Simple as that.”