The Ashes 2025: The only reason Usman Khawaja should earn a Test recall this summer
Sentiment should not come into any decision about Usman Khawaja’s recall to the Test team, Daniel Cherny writes. This is the only question that matters: can he help Australia win the Ashes?
If Australian selectors believe in their heart of hearts that batting Usman Khawaja in the middle order at Adelaide Oval next week will give their side the best possible chance of winning the third Test, they should do it.
It’s as simple as that. Sentiment should not play a role when it comes to deciding whether or not to pick a man who will turn 39 on day two of the match, but nor should youth be prioritised for the sake of the exercise.
The panel doesn’t owe Khawaja a storybook finish. There’s an argument that no one deserves to decide the terms of their departure from international cricket, and if there is a greatness threshold for such exits, then Khawaja - despite being an outstanding player over a long period of time - probably falls just short of it.
The new opening union of Travis Head and Jake Weatherald has twice set Australia on its way to victory. It is not an enormous sample size, however employing a pair of aggressors at the top of the order has had a cascading effect through the Aussie batting lineup, which is striking as quickly as it has in Test cricket for almost a decade. Head has done nothing to suggest he doesn’t want the job, and the side is humming.
Meddling with this partnership would be too clever by half.
But Josh Inglis - the man who took the injured Khawaja’s spot in the revamped batting lineup at the Gabba - has not done enough to make himself indispensable.
Much has been made of the fact Khawaja’s double-century at Galle is an outlier when it comes to his Test performances over the past two years, but so too is Inglis’ debut ton in the same game.
The West Australian effected a stunning run out of Ben Stokes but his flighty 23 exposed a weakness against pace on his stumps. He is averaging 28.40 from his four Tests, batting between No. 4 and No. 7.
In the age of the World Test Championship, there are few real dead rubber Tests. But in this instance, the importance of the WTC doesn’t even need to be invoked, because the Ashes remain on the line, as unlikely as an England comeback is from this point.
There has been a regrettably nasty edge to some of the commentary around Khawaja. He didn’t help himself with his remarks around the Perth Test pitch, and it is hard to argue he isn’t a fading force, but his Sheffield Shield form showed that he hasn’t completely fallen off the cliff, and is at least worthy of discussion around Australia’s Test XI.
Given the stakes still at play, his age should not be held against him when weighing up the merits of his inclusion, probably pitted against Inglis, Beau Webster or even Michael Neser should the panel choose to go in with four frontline quicks for a rare day Test in Adelaide.
By dropping Nathan Lyon twice in three Tests - and he made it abundantly clear how he felt about it - the panel has proven itself willing to make uncomfortable decisions.
On this occasion, the decision to pick Neser ahead of Lyon proved a rousing success. Two-nil up against a gormless England without having used Pat Cummins or Josh Hazlewood, the selectors have credits in the bank, and have earned the right to be trusted.
On that note, while the Khawaja call is front and centre, a potentially even more difficult decision is shaping when it comes to Josh Hazlewood’s Test future.
Cruelly for a man still at the peak of his powers when fit, he has not been able to remain on the park for long enough. In four of the past five home Test summers, the soon-to-be 35-year-old has been sidelined midway through a first-class match.
It was a blessing in disguise for Australia that this time around, Hazlewood’s hamstring injury came in a Shield match rather than the first Test.
Ruled out of the Ashes with an Achilles setback, there has to be a serious conversation as to whether he can be trusted going forward in Test cricket. Australia doesn’t play another Test until August, but from that point the calendar is helter-skelter: as many as 21 Tests in the space of 12 months.
There is no need to rush to a call either way on Hazlewood, but given his brilliance in white-ball cricket, which will be his next focus ahead of the Twenty20 World Cup early next year, the conversation will have to be had during the off-season about whether Hazlewood should be a first-choice Test paceman heading into such a hectic period.
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Originally published as The Ashes 2025: The only reason Usman Khawaja should earn a Test recall this summer
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