Australia v Sri Lanka: Usman Khawaja and Mitchell Starc get their mojo back

Selectors were already discussing Usman Khawaja’s future before the enigmatic batsman was gifted another chance at the crease

Usman Khawaja celebrates his century at Canberra’s Manuka Oval. Picture. Phil Hillyard

Selectors were already discussing Usman Khawaja’s future before the enigmatic batsman was gifted another chance at the crease on Sunday. A chance he made the most of by scoring a century. A junk time century, but a century that brought relief at the end of a hot and unhappy summer.

Mitchell Starc made the most of the day too. How much can be read into both performances in this Test match is debatable, but you can’t scoff at a five-wicket haul even if it was gained bullying a relatively timid batting line-up.

Starc bowled in excess of 150kmh. He found the necessary level of chaos and occasional control. Sometimes, it does mean a thing even when it ain’t got that swing. At least he had his bully back — and a little bit of swing.

Ditto Khawaja’s innings, which will, if it does nothing else, put a little bit more swagger back into the batsman’s heavy gait.

Khawaja admitted the arrest of his brother Arsalan in December on charges of attempting to pervert justice and forgery had made it a difficult few months.

“Getting a lot of starts during the summer was tough. I’ve had a tough summer, I’ve had a lot of stuff going on off the field which has made things a lot tougher,” he admitted. “It’s something you don’t expect to happen. My family’s very close to me and I’m very close to my family, at some level it made it difficult to go out and concentrate on my skills, but at the same time while I was playing my cricket you forget about everything. At the same token, it has been very taxing mentally.”

The batsman said his wife Rachel had been with him through it all and been his “rock” and he was feeling better now than he was a couple of months ago.

Starc also admitted he has been frustrated, but a session with NSW bowling coach Andre Adams and a return to basics before the Sri Lankan series helped.

“I’ve been talking to a few people close to me who I have worked with over the last couple of years and putting the 450 coaches I’ve had in the last few weeks to the side and going back to what I know best,” the bowler explained.

“The one for me this week was to run in and really bowl fast, wickets are a wonderful thing; they help and I found a bit of swing today as well. The last few weeks haven’t gone to plan, but like Ussie, it’s nice to see the work does pay off and it’s been fantastic to have the backing of everyone in the changeroom. It doesn’t matter what is said outside as long as the boys have your back.”

Khawaja’s 101no and Travis Head’s 59no came courtesy of the decision by Tim Paine to let his batsman off the leash one more time despite having a first innings lead of 319. They are sitting pretty after declaring at 3-196 with Sri Lanka (0-17) needing 499 to win at the start of day four.

Australian batsmen have left their best until last this summer. Joe Burns’s 180, Travis Heads’s 161 and Kurtis Patterson’s 114no in the first innings were the first three centuries of the season. Khawaja’s made it a bingo hall knock at the (selectors’) door four for the match.

Australia could have enforced the follow-on. Kusal Perera was lying down in a dark changeroom being monitored for concussion after an incident in the morning. Struck on the helmet by Jhye Richardson, he told the team support staff (Sri Lanka does not have a doctor on tour) he was fine to bat on. A few balls later he had another conference but continued. No sooner had the cavalry left than they were on their way out again. This time the batsman conceded he really was in trouble.

There has been considerable debate about concussion protocols in cricket. None exist, nor is their any insistence a side travel with a doctor. It is dangerous territory.

Kusal was replaced by Dimuth Karunaratne, who had last been seen leaving the ground in the back of an ambulance after being struck by Pat Cummins the previous evening when on 46.

It takes some nerve to front up after an incident like that and the opener was warmly applauded when he brought up his 50 and equally so when he was out to Starc five balls later.

Khawaja celebrated the century as if possessed by David Warner. Rarely demonstrative, he leapt in the air twice, gave a series of fist pumps and waved the bat with some emotion. All that was missing was a Simon Katich/Phillip Hughes style spray toward the press box, but the batsman’s emotion was a clear indication he had been feeling the pressure.

Justin Langer gave him a vote of confidence before this match, pointing to a career average over 40, but the coach knows there are concerns enough — even after this century — to know a decision has to be made about whether his Ashes preparation is best served by taking him on the ODI tours against India and Pakistan in the next months or leaving him behind to re-engineer his game in the Sheffield Shield.