Khawaja left high and dry as rain forces Aussies to press for victory

Usman Khawaja went into great detail on Friday evening about his century celebrations, but he was denied the chance to show off another one on day four as Pat Cummins made the tough call to deprive his teammate the chance to notch a maiden Test double century.

After moving past his previous highest Test score of 174, Khawaja finished day two unbeaten on 195 before all play was washed out on Friday.

Khawaja felt it would be a “harsh” call for Cummins to declare with him five short of 200, but incessant rain on Saturday morning left the Australian captain with no choice but to declare and send South Africa in to try and force a result in the third Test.

Personal milestones are one thing, but Cummins had little option but to ensure every possible over could be utilised in the pursuit of victory and a series clean sweep.

Australian quick Josh Hazlewood said the plan was to continue batting on day four so Khawaja could get his double hundred but rain meant they needed to change tack.

“He was fine,” said Hazlewood of Khawaja. “I think all the batters would fine with a call like that. We were running out of overs … it was being talked about.”

Usman Khawaja signs autographs waiting for play to start after a rain delay at the SCG on Saturday.Credit: Rhett Wyman

Khawaja became the ninth batsman in Test history to be undefeated in the 190s. The only one closer to the magic 200-run mark was Frank Worrell, who made 197 for the West Indies against England in Barbados in 1959-60.

In the past two SCG Tests, Khawaja has scored 433 runs from three innings, for just the one dismissal.

He celebrated triple figures on day two with a little dance and explained his reason for doing so afterwards.

“I always enjoy bringing a little bit of colour to Test cricket, both figuratively and literally,” Khawaja said. “I remember I dabbed [a form of celebration] here in 2016. The amount of guys who said, ‘I can’t believe you did that. I can’t believe you did that’. I can dab. You guys can raise your bat. I can do what I want. I’m not being disrespectful.

“For me, it’s just about genuinely adding a little bit of colour to a very, very traditional game. When I first came into the Australian cricket team I always felt like you had to do certain things a certain way. At that time, I tried to assimilate into Australian cricket team culture as much as I could. It wasn’t until 2015 where I’d matured a little bit more and decided to be my man. I still got sledged a lot for it by the boys, but I didn’t care any more.

“Big Bash isn’t the only place you can have fun.”

If Khawaja can manage a double century in either India or England later this year, it could well go down as his finest accomplishment at international level.

Rain delay raises eyebrows

Although it was a wet first session on Saturday, there was a lot of standing around and waiting when the rain had stopped.

A block of turf had to be replaced near the bowling crease, while ground staff used big blowers to try and dry wet patches on the square.

SCG grounds crew remove the covers from the wicket area after a rain delay on Saturday.Credit: AP

Different covers were used to normal, in order to have a sponsor’s logo emblazoned on them.

Former England international Isa Guha, who usually doesn’t fire up on too many issues, didn’t hold back when it came to the SCG covers and Australian grounds in general.

“I’m staggered really by the level of coverage on the grounds,” Guha said on Fox Cricket. “You would think they could invest in some better covers. You have the hover covers at Lord’s that come off really quickly and then at The Oval it literally covers the whole of the ground across the square for moments like this where bowlers are looking around at the pitch ends where it can be a bit dangerous. I’m pretty staggered that it’s not better equipped.”

Getting a hover cover into the SCG is just not possible given the ground’s configurations, but with so much bad weather in recent years, solutions are surely being canvassed.

Cricket Australia and Venues NSW released a joint statement to confirm there had been a leak in the covers.

“Ground staff and the cricket operations team have confirmed there were no delays in play due to a small leak in the covers,” the statement read. “The delay to play today was caused by a small section of sodden turf off the wicket square where water had accumulated overnight. The SCG had 56 millimetres of rain overnight and this morning.”

Stars gather for Sydney derby match

There’s something a little left-field going on before the Sydney Thunder and Sydney Sixers match on Sunday. At 4.45pm at Sydney Showground Stadium, an eight-over a side Celebrity Bash game is set to take place.

Every player bowls an over, while each batting partnership lasts two overs. Batters can’t get out, but they lose five runs if they’re dismissed.

Here are some of the more interesting names in the teams:

THOR VIII: Harry Garside (boxing), Bradley Clyde (rugby league), Michael Klinger (cricket), Maddy Proud (netball), Lee Germon (Cricket NSW CEO), Hazem El Masri (rugby league), Phoebe Litchfield (cricket), Hannah Darlington (cricket).

STORM VIII: George Kambosos Jr (boxing), Paul Sironen (rugby league), Doug Bollinger (cricket), Caitlin Bassett (netball), Dominic Perrottet (NSW Premier), Aaron Woods (rugby league), Tahlia Wilson (cricket), Sammy Jo Johnson (cricket).