Former Australian selector Mark Waugh has urged Usman Khawaja to take a break from the game to clear his head after a “shocking” shot and cheap dismissal that has heaped further pressure on his position in the team.
Khawaja’s lean summer continued on Friday at Manuka Oval when the left-hander edged his third ball to second slip off the bowling of Vishwa Fernando for a duck.
Slump: Usman Khawaja was dismissed for his fourth duck in Test cricket on Friday. Credit:AAP
Dangling his bat wide outside the off stump and with no foot movement to the swinging ball, it was an ugly dismissal for Khawaja that put Australia in trouble at 2-15 after winning the toss and electing to bat.
Khawaja has always had an excellent technique but some of his shot selections during the past few Tests have left a lot to be desired and resulted in serious question marks over his spot in the team. The 32-year-old's form slump has coincided with family turmoil – his older brother Arsalan Khawaja, 39, was charged by police in December over the discovery of a fake terror plot to kill senior politicians, which he allegedly created to "set up" a male work colleague, when the two were fighting over a woman.
It is almost inconceivable to think Khawaja’s position in the Australian team for the first Ashes Test is in danger after scoring just 209 runs at 23.22 across the summer. Only once has Khawaja passed 33 in his previous 11 innings.
Four months ago, Khawaja was Australia’s hero, having just played the innings of his life – a 302-ball, 522-minute knock of 141 to save a Test in Dubai against Pakistan.
Before Joe Burns and Travis Head reached triple figures, Khawaja was the last Australian batsman to score a hundred and his fall from grace has been concerning on a number of fronts.
Waugh, a long supporter of Khawaja, said on Twitter his form wasn’t up to scratch at the moment.
“It is as much mental as technical with Uzzie, he is not in the contest at the moment,” Waugh wrote. “He is there in body but not in mind. He needs a break to clear his head.”
Khawaja may get a chance to find form in white-ball cricket on Australia’s tour of India later this month but for the time being there are issues that need to be addressed.
Former England captain Michael Vaughan, commentating for Fox Cricket, labelled Khawaja’s dismissal “shocking” and slammed his decision to play a wide, swinging delivery.
“[There was] no balance, [he was in] no position to try and play that drive,” Vaughan said. “Just a flick of the hands. Head goes nowhere. You’re allowed to leave the ball, let it go through to the keeper.
"You’re playing against a team that has no experience … they’ve just gifted them two early wickets.”
A day after Shane Warne said he would have dropped Khawaja for the final match of the series, Kerry O’Keeffe also questioned whether Khawaja’s technique was tight enough to meet the standards of an Australian No.3.
“Usman Khawaja’s feet, they froze," O'Keeffe said. "You can’t at No.3 have frozen feet to the swinging ball. The bat was a long way from the body as a result. So Australia’s [number] one, two and three are not locked in concrete going forward.
“Can Usman bat at No.3 with that technique? On current from, no.”
Burns defended his teammate, saying a big score wasn't too far away.
"All of us get our cheaply," Burns said. "I think when it’s a player the quality of Uzzie it’s probably a surprise more than anything that he isn’t banging away the hundreds as he usually is. If anything it makes you really motivated to cash in when you get the chance. There will be runs around the corner."
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