Usman Khawaja celebrates an innings that keeps Australia alive in first Ashes Test

Usman Khawaja has brought up his first century in England, throwing his bat high into the Birmingham sky after digging Australia out of a big hole.

Australia's Usman Khawaja celebrates after reaching his century during play on day two of the first Ashes cricket Test match between England and Australia. Picture: AFP

Usman Khawaja brought up his first century in England, digging his side out of a hole and keeping them in touch with England with three days left in the match.

Thanks to the opener, Australia has a chance of taking a first innings lead and grabbing back the advantage that’s eluded them thus far in the match.

Khawaja carried his bat through the day and was 126no with Alex Carey (52no) at the other end. Together the pair have put on 91 and got the visitors to 5-311 in reply to England 8-393 declared.

The two innings have had something of the tortoise and the hare about them.

The Australians scored at 3.3 runs per over compared to England’s 5.3rpo, but Khawaja argues that’s not an issue.

“It doesn’t matter how you win in Test cricket,” he said later. “Whether they win or we win at the end of the Test match no one will care how you did it, whether you score at six an over or whether you score at three an over.

“That’s why the Test match is a beautiful game. Credit to them if they win this Test match, the way they play they earned it. If we win we’ve earned it.

“You’ve got to do things your way, I learned that a long time ago.”

Khawaja’s average of 68.72 is the highest by an opener in Test history (20 innings or more). It irks him that his batting wasn’t rated early in his career, but if he keeps up this pace it will be acknowledged by history.

This one meant a lot to Khawaja.

On bringing up his seventh since hundred since being recalled to the team he ran toward the dressing room, punched the sky and then threw his bat high into the Birmingham sky.

Usman Khawaja throws his bat in the air while celebrating his century. Picture: Getty

It meant a lot to Australia too. The visitors, who had been on the ropes in their fielding innings, found themselves similarly embattled when it came their turn to bat.

David Warner lost his mind chasing a wide one from Stuart Broad soon after the recommencement and was out for nine. It was just the result Australian selectors, who had tried to wipe the 2019 series from their minds, didn’t want. Broad got the opener seven out 10 times back then.

The world’s highest ranked batsman, Marnus Labuschagne, was out for a golden duck the next delivery.

Steve Smith, the man England fear the most, was out LBW on 16 and Australia was 3-67 before lunch.

Ben Stokes of England celebrates after taking the wicket of Steve Smith of Australia. Picture: Getty

Things improved somewhat in the second session with Head (50 from 63 balls) combining with Khawaja for an 81 run partnership and then Cameron Green was bowled by Moeen Ali on 38 after tea.

Where England appeared to fly down hill on the first day, their hands in their pockets and their feet on the handle, Australia were out of their seat and straining on the pedals up a hill whose gradient eased occasionally but whose peak seemed impossibly distant.

Things could have been a lot worse for the visitors.

Jonny Bairstow missed a simple stumping before Green was off the mark, Carey was dropped by the keeper on 26 and in the following over Khawaja was bowled but recalled as Stuart Broad had over stepped.

Bairstow then missed an outside edge off Carey, conceding the runs that brought up his half century.

The bowler, who had just taken the new ball, moaned long and hard to the umpire, but it was harder than usual to have any sympathy for his plight given it was the sixth he’d bowled in the innings.

England left out its best keeper, Ben Foakes, in order to bolster its batting depth.

Khawaja’s enthusiastic celebrations on the century were understandable, but he can’t pinpoint where they came from.

Bouncing his daughter on his lap after play he tried a bit of self analysis.

“Honestly, I think it was a combination of three Ashes tours in England and being dropped in two of them. I don’t read the media, I genuinely do not, but I’m being sprayed by the crowd as I’m walking out there today and as I’m going to net that I can’t score runs in England, so I guess it was a bit more emotional than normal.

“I feel like I’m saying that all the time. Same thing happened in India.

“Not that I have a point to prove, but its nice to out and score runs for Australia and show everyone that the last 10 years haven’t been a fluke.”

Khawaja won’t admit it but he feels he has been underestimated by coaches, selectors, crowds and commentators for most of his cricketing life.

It was in the corresponding series four years ago that he was dropped from the side. He thought it was the end of his Test career. In and out of the side over many years, he came to accept that he would never play cricket again and went back to his job captaining Queensland.

He says every game since recall he has treated as a bonus.

Called up again in the 2021-22 series he has played like a man granted a second chance at life. He scored hundreds in both innings at the SCG Test, that in itself something of a home coming.

Since there’s been that 160 in Karachi and an undefeated 104 in Lahore, he was 195no in Sydney at the declaration this last summer and 180 when dismissed at Ahmedabad last March.

During his stay at the crease Khawaja lost Warner, Khawaja, Smith, Head and Green, but he remained calm, pulling loose balls in front of square and knocking Moeen Ali back over his head when the need arose.

Saturday’s play bore no resemblance to Friday’s.

The Australian batters would have drawn the curtains to find Birmingham’s flirtation with blue skies was a passing fling and the traditional midlands mizzle had resumed. The covers were on the pitch and the workshop of the world’s cloud cover was back.

Still, they would have said, how bad can it be? Very, very slow pitch, to use the words of Josh Hazlewood the night before. And a positively geriatric attack. James Anderson uses his pension card to mark the top of his run, Moeen Ali had to be summoned from the retirement home’s bingo hall. Stuart Broad still has that silly rag tied round his head like he’s playing for Dire Straits, or dancing in an Olivia Newton John video.

And that special batch of Dukes ball used in 2019 have not been seen since.

What a difference cloud cover makes.

Broadcasters claimed the ball that had hardly moved in the air the day (.8%) was now moving at 1.2 per cent. It doesn’t sound much, but it’s not far from the middle of the bat to the edge.

Weather and movement aside, England approached the game in a completely different manner to the Australians the day previous.

What a difference a mindset makes.

Ben Stokes had one man back and three slips in Broad’s first over of the morning to Warner, then four slips when James Anderson took the ball from the city end to Khawaja. Australia had men back from the first ball of the day and more as the day progressed.

It was an attacking field, but the openers struggled to find the gaps. The first three overs were maidens where the Australian attack had only managed two in the 78 overs of England’s first innings.

Later, when Head and Khawaja were in full flow Stokes invited them to hit down the ground by keeping mid on and mid off up and held his nerve when the pair began to profit from those spaces.

The captaincy was astute and it got results. Warner, who’d looked good the night before, was denied that little drop and run to ease the pressure approach he has. Forced to hit it squarer and harder to score he aimed a god awful swipe at a wide ball from his nemesis and Broad had his man again.

In 2019 he got him seven times, that was the 15th time he’s got the Australian opener.

Broad said before the series he was working on his out swinger.

“It’s designed, to be honest, for Marnus and Smith,” Broad said in the lead up to the series.

“It’s the reason I wanted to change something, to try and bring their outside edge in more.”

Guess which delivery he bowled to Labuschagne first up?

The Australian number three chased it, reaching for contact and Jonny Bairstow dived wide for the edge.

Great plan, great execution, great catch, poor shot.

Enter Steve Smith, enter some creative unorthodoxy from Stokes. Three slips, a gully and two in the leg trap for that one he turns down there.

Ben Stokes had one man back and three slips in Broad’s first over of the morning to Warner, then four slips when James Anderson took the ball from the city end to Khawaja. Australia had men back from the first ball of the day and more as the day progressed.

Stokes didn’t panic when Head and Khawaja started to climb into Moeen after lunch, sticking with the veteran he’d recalled from retirement on a “gut feel” and one he claimed could turn in “match winning performances”.