Usman Khawaja has spoken openly about his relationship with former Proteas batter Hashim Amla, and really enjoyed spending time with him off the field whenever he could.
Cape Town – Usman Khawaja may not be the Kevin Pietersen of the Australian team, but the classy left-hander has had to take some criticism from his teammates for being quite friendly with the Proteas in the past.
Khawaja has spoken openly about his relationship with former Proteas batter Hashim Amla, and really enjoyed spending time with him off the field whenever he could.
Amla, of course, is no longer with the Proteas having retired from international cricket in 2019, but Khawaja still has fond memories of the South Africans.
Khawaja, of course, struck a famous century against the Proteas in South Africa’s first-ever pink ball Test at the Adelaide Oval in 2016.
We're looking back at the TOP 5 Moments at the SCG this year.
2️⃣ Usman Khawaja returns to test cricket with back-to-back centuries, the first Australia man to do so in an Ashes Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground. pic.twitter.com/wskBUOxDYz
— Sydney Cricket Ground (@scg) December 12, 2022
It occurred in extremely bizarre circumstances too, with Khawaja receiving an emergency call to open the batting. This after former Proteas captain Faf du Plessis caused mayhem in the Australian dressing-room when he cunningly called for a declaration, knowing that regular opener David Warner was not allowed to come out and bat due to having been off the field earlier for a lengthy period of time.
The Australians were certainly caught off guard with Khawaja having to partner debutant Matt Renshaw.
“Warner had ‘pink-ball-itis’ I call it. He had to bat at night time against the pink ball and just sort of disappeared,” Khawaja recalled on Tuesday.
“I’m very good mates with Matt Renshaw so it was really good. I remember just trying to look after him because I know how hard it is to bat at night time and it’s not an easy time so I just asked him, ‘Do you want me to face the first ball?’
“And he was like … yeah … so I was … ‘Okay, I’ll like I’ll take it’. I went from batting at No.3 to taking the first ball. It was a really cool experience. Tough wicket, tough scoring conditions, pink ball. They had a pretty good bowling attack too. It was a grind.”
Khawaja went on to score 145 that secured Australia a consolation victory after the Proteas had already won the series with victories in Perth and Hobart the week before.
Fascinating insight from Usman Khawaja with @copes9.
They discuss how the pitch is playing – what it meant for Khawaja's approach – and how he reassesses when a bowling attack changes their plans.#AUSvWI pic.twitter.com/8xNAZoSUl6
— 7Cricket (@7Cricket) December 9, 2022
The Proteas and Australia will not play a pink-ball Test on the current tour that gets under way at the Gabba in Brisbane on Saturday, but Khawaja is no less a threat.
The 35-year-old has been in Bradmanesque form since being recalled at the beginning of the year for the Ashes series against England. Khawaja has struck 1 066 runs at an average of 82, which includes five centuries and four half-centuries since the New Year Test in Sydney.
It is a phenomenal run that poses major problems for the Proteas seam attack who will know that they cannot falter in either line or length against the prolific Australian opener.
Even more as the first Test will be played at Khawaja’s home ground in Queensland, where he averages 53.50.
The Proteas have managed to pick up Khawaja cheaply on other occasions, although the left-hander’s arch-nemesis Vernon Philander, who removed him four times in eight Tests, is no longer part of the Proteas line-up.
Instead, it will most likely be left to current Proteas spearhead Kagiso Rabada and left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj that have both picked him up on three occasions each.
