‘He’ll do whatever he needs’: Khawaja ups the ante in bid to save career

Usman Khawaja is refusing to allow the end of his Test career be decided for him, after he was spotted hitting the Brisbane nets alone in a bid to prove his fitness for an Ashes recall.

The Queenslander’s push to regain his place atop the Australian batting order garnered support from his state teammate Matt Renshaw, who said the position of opening batsman needed to remain specialised if the nation is to have ongoing success.

Speaking ahead of Brisbane Heat’s first Big Bash League match of the season, Renshaw said facing the new ball was a unique skill set in red-ball cricket.

Khawaja’s back injury, which has kept him to one innings in the Ashes so far, opened the door for Travis Head to be promoted up the order alongside Jake Weatherald. It is a role Head has performed before on the subcontinent and in the game’s shorter formats, and one in which he guided Australia to a 2-0 series lead.

But while the South Australian’s form – which included his 69-ball century in Perth – has left Khawaja’s Test career teetering, the 38-year-old Khawaja was leaving no stone unturned in his bid to prove his fitness.

As Ben Stokes and his England teammates soaked up the sun in Noosa, Khawaja was seen batting at the Allan Border Field nets on Wednesday. He retained his place in the squad to face England in Adelaide from December 17, and appeared to be moving freely, albeit while doing back stretches between shots.

“He’ll be doing everything he needs to do to get right. He’s a class player, so even if he hasn’t hit for a while, he’ll still be ready to go,” Renshaw said of Khawaja.

“We’re pretty similar people, he’ll deny that until the cows come home, but he’s been great for me. Speaking to him, he’ll do whatever he needs to do.”

While Renshaw appreciated that Head’s heroics could be what was needed to counter England’s approach, he said the fill-in options should not be considered the selection blueprint.

“I think the way Trav’s come out and played, it’s probably the one where you look at it and go ‘he’s coming out and just playing one-day, T20 cricket’. Whereas we saw Steve Smith – the best player Australia’s produced in this generation – try to open and bat normally, and it’s pretty hard,” Renshaw said.

“I see it as that specialist position still. Say you do 140 overs in the field, you’ve got a 10-minute changeover and straight away batting, so it’s a pretty tough job.

“The way Heady went out and did what he did, he took the game away [from England]. In this series, that might be the option, but it depends on what’s going on.”

Since David Warner’s retirement in early 2024, Khawaja has been paired with four makeshift openers – Head, Smith, Nathan McSweeney and Marnus Labuschagne – and all were selected out of position to fill the void, to little avail.

But this has coincided with a dip in Khawaja’s own form – his average of 30 in the past two years dropping to 23, excluding his 233 in Sri Lanka.

Renshaw is yet to be given a chance to add to his 14 Test caps, although his dominant summer opening for Queensland has thrust him back into the conversation – scoring three Sheffield Shield hundreds and impressing in his maiden one-day international series against India.

McSweeney, who will captain the Heat in their opening BBL match against the Melbourne Renegades on December 15, endured a trial by fire against Indian spearhead Jasprit Bumrah last summer – averaging 14.40 from three Tests before being replaced by Sam Konstas.

But his move to his usual spots at No.3 and No.4 has reaped rewards, headlined by his unbeaten 226 for Australia A against the England Lions on the weekend to keep himself in the frame for a Test recall down the track.

The Queenslander-turned-South Australian felt anyone batting in the top order could theoretically mould themselves into an opening batsman, but success would depend on the conditions.

“Heady’s opened a lot in white ball over the last three or four years. Different conditions maybe play into it a bit, but the best batters in the world seem to find a way – it doesn’t matter where you put them,” McSweeney said.

“It’ll be interesting to see what they do in the next Test. The boys are flying at the moment, and you’ve got a world-class batter there [in Khawaja], who averages 45 in Test cricket.

“It should be a typical Adelaide wicket. I’m sure the SACA [South Australia Cricket Association] is keen to have a Test that goes more than the last one; I think they’ve had two pink balls in a row that have gone three days.

“I’m expecting it to be probably batter-friendly, and for Nathan Lyon to play a massive part.”

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