‘Fiasco’: Storm erupts as Khawaja photo raises eyebrows
Usman Khawaja has poured fuel on a burning Ashes drama with the Australian showing what he really thinks about recent criticism.
Usman Khawaja has taken a swing at his critics with a cheeky Instagram post shared on Monday night.
The opening batsman is facing the possibility that he has already played his final Test after back spasms ruined his ability to contribute during Australia’s eight-wicket victory in Perth.
Australian coach Andrew McDonald earlier told reporters Khawaja is not guaranteed to be selected for the second Test in Brisbane — whether he proves his fitness or not.
The 38-year-old was unable to open the batting because he had been off the field for too long on the opening day of play and was then protected to bat lower down the order when Travis Head volunteered to open alongside Jake Weatherald.
With the pink ball Test at the Gabba beginning on December 4, Khawaja has plenty of time to recover.
One thing he won’t be doing during the 11-day break is playing golf.
Khawaja came under heavy fire when it was revealed on the opening day that he had played 18 holes of golf the day before the start of the series, where he suffered back spasms for the first time.
The SMH reports Khawaja played three rounds of golf in three days before the first Test.
Khawaja skipped an optional training session on Thursday to play a round of golf as part of his preparation for Wednesday’s Australian PGA pro-am event at Royal Queensland where he was listed as a participant.
The left-hander scrapped those plans on Monday.
With the storm of debate about his preparation swirling, Khawaja poked the bear by posting an image of a golf course on his Instagram page.
Alongside images of Mitchell Starc’s epic one-handed catch and Scott Boland celebrating a wicket, Khawaja shared the image of a lakeside golf course with a caption: “What a week! It had it all”.
Aussie captain Pat Cummins commented on the post with a golf swing emoji.
Khawaja’s former opening partner David Warner responded by writing: “Foreeeeeee”.
Former NSW fast-bowler and Channel 7 cricket analyst Trent Copeland also commented with “laugh out loud” emojis.
It isn’t entirely a laughing matter in the eyes of other Aussie cricket commentators.
Aussie cult hero Mitchell Johnson has called Khawaja’s saga a “self-inflicted back spasm fiasco”.
The Ashes destroyer suggested in a column written for The Nightly that Khawaja’s teammates might not be “sympathetic” towards Khawaja.
“Everyone has their way of preparing, and I’m not against players using golf as a way to switch off,” Johnson wrote.
“But you’ve got to be professional too. Khawaja reportedly played golf in Perth for three days in a row leading into day one of the first Test.
“And I reckon Khawaja’s teammates who don’t spend as much time on the golf course might not be sympathetic either. These little moments matter in elite sport.”
He went on to write: “From the outside, it doesn’t look great”.
“You could reasonably argue that the preparation contributed to the back spasms, and if that’s the case, then that’s not doing your job properly for Australia,” he wrote.
“This level doesn’t give you much room to be held back by preventable issues and at Usman’s age his preparation for a huge series needed to be better.”
Khawaja didn’t exactly look nimble in the field and dropped a fairly regulation catching chance. He was out for two in the first innings batting at No. 4.
Johnson also highlighted Khawaja’s track record and reputation for enjoying the free license senior players have been given under coach McDonald, compared to former coach Justin Langer.
Khawaja in March came under fire when he skipped playing a Sheffield Shield match for Queensland and instead attended the Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix.
Khawaja was nursing a hamstring injury.
That saga turned explosive when Queensland cricket boss Joe Dawes said he was “disappointed” the state association and its medical staff were not made aware of the issue.
Khawaja came out blasting when it was insinuated he had exaggerated the hamstring niggle in order to attend the event in Melbourne, where he popped up on the global Sky Sports broadcast before the race.
Former Aussie Test captain Mark Taylor also said: “It’s not a great look”.
All Khawaja needs to quell the current storm is to score runs. It’s that simple.
However, he may not get that chance if Aussie selectors reach a decision that it is too risky to select him in the XI.
Aussie players will not be back in camp together before this weekend.
“It’s a long way out, a lot of information to gather between now and then, and hopefully Usman is fit and available for selection.,” McDonald said.
Khawaja turns 39 next month but McDonald refused to draw a line between his age and the nature of the injury, with any potential omission likely to end his Test career.
“I think any time you spasm, it’s a result of something going on in your back, so I think that further investigation is just due diligence around that. You spasm for a reason,” he said.
“He hasn’t had it before, so that’s what will probably entail a bit more investigation.
“This (injury) is just one of those ones that can happen. These things can happen, and I don’t think we can join the dots to something around his age.
“Hopefully, in three days he’ll be back into work and look forward to seeing what that looks like.”
Since the start of 2024, Khawaja has averaged 24.80 in home Tests, with two fifties across 17 innings.
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