Peace: Uzzy weathers the storm

Australia’s irrepressible opener decided to let one through to the keeper and respect the ICC’s decision to ban him from making what he and his teammates see as a basic human rights message.

Usman Khawaja chose peace with the ICC on the opening day of the Boxing Day Test.

Storms interrupted the first day of the Melbourne Test between Pakistan and Australia, but the day passed without further controversy after Usman Khawaja chose to respect the ban on his latest attempt to send a human rights message.

Khawaja was blocked by the International Cricket Council from wearing a peace symbol on his equipment even though it had been approved by Cricket Australia, because the game’s ruling body objected to the context of the gesture.

The batter had agreed not to wear messaging on his shoes during the Perth Test, and working with Cricket Australia had compromised with the dove symbol and a reference to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, but the ICC said that too was unacceptable.

Cricket Australia CEO Nick Hockley said the game’s ruling body had objected to the context of the message coming during the Middle East disaster.

“My understanding is the context of the lead into Perth Test, and the context of the lead into the making of the application (contributed). Again, we work with Uzzy to try and find something which was nonpartisan, non-religious, apolitical, the universally recognised symbol of peace. But I think the ICC statement calls out the broader context,” Hockley said before play on Tuesday.

“We didn’t speak yesterday. We spoke the day before and I think over the last week or so we’ve been working really constructively with Uzzy to find a way that (was) nonpartisan, I think that symbol is universally recognised as a symbol of peace. That being said, the ICC have got their rules. I think they explained the rationale really clearly and we respect that.

“We’ve been really clear about is that support as all our players really to share what they believe over their own channels. I think the ICC has very clear rules in place for good reason. I think I’ve already said it on Friday when we were here at the MCG, the thing that has really been shone a light upon is just the need for consistency of following the process and consistency in applications.”

Khawaja’s shoes in a nets session during the first Test against Pakistan in Perth.

Cricket Australia had objected to the original message partly because the wording was in the same colour as the Palestinian flags but was satisfied the dove was neutral, however the ICC disagreed.

The morning dawned with people none the wiser of what Khawaja would do. He had posted a message on his social media account the night before highlighting other examples of messaging the game had turned a blind eye to.

Khawaja entered the arena early without his bat, but when he did walk to the wicket the blade was clean of any human rights messaging, his shoes however had writing on them.

The opener had written the names of his daughters on his shoes, the words “all lives are equal” and “freedom is a human right” remained taped over as they have been since The Australian broke the story of the planned protest and the game’s authorities intervened.

Khawaja and David Warner opened the batting before 60,000 fans who found the lure of the MCG stronger than the Boxing Day sales taking place further up the road.

It was a healthy show given only 59,125 had shown up to the four days in Perth and given the parlous state of the Pakistan side which has six players unavailable for injury.

David Warner was blessed with a little luck in his penultimate Test match, slip dropping a simple catch in the early overs and he seemed locked in for another certain century. The veteran opener had scored hundreds in the first innings of his past five matches against Pakistan in Australia. But Warner appeared to lose all concentration when the umpires allowed the visitors to bowl one more over before lunch.

He’d taken his helmet and gloves off in the previous over and if the loose shot at a ball from Agha Salman was any indication he was more concerned with the buffet not the batting.

Khawaja after being dismissed caught by Agha Salman off the bowling of Hasan Ali for 42.

After the day’s play, Warner said Khawaja was fine with the outcome over his position on the Middle East.

“He has put his statement out there and he believes in that,” the opener said.

“He wouldn’t have made that statement if he thought he couldn’t cope, he knew there’d be criticism.”

“I said to him ‘you just have to keep believing what you believe and move on with the cricket’. He’s done that pretty well.”

Warner said he had his children’s names on his shoes.

“Writing your kids’ names means they are always with me.

“Uzzy has always been the type of person who says it how it is and whenever he says it (it’s) with purpose.

“He has shut me down a few times when I’m trying to prove a point. That’s just the way Uzzy is. He was a leader around NSW when we were young, he was always that guy who put his hand up to help.”