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When Usman Khawaja treated a legion of fans to a slick creation during the 4th nighttime league of December's Adelaide Test, possibly nary Australian cricketer had exhibited specified polished moves since Chris Rogers pursuing the whitewash of the 2013-14 Ashes.
The silky impromptu hot-stepping is 1 of fewer similarities 1 tin gully betwixt the 2 men. One, aft all, was calved successful St George successful Sydney's south, and the different successful Pakistan's superior city, Islamabad.
But erstwhile Khawaja straps connected his pads and strides to the mediate of Hobart's Bellerive Oval successful the last Ashes Test, the elegant left-hander volition get the accidental to sew up a presumption astatine the apical of Australia's bid astatine the property of 35. Just similar Rogers did successful 2013.
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Khawaja's imaginable was limitless erstwhile a 24-year-old with a baby's look powered to the mediate of the Sydney Cricket Ground connected his Test debut. This was a young antheral who had compiled 598 Sheffield Shield runs astatine a tick nether 75 until that constituent successful the summer, including a sound of 214. He had besides been thrust into Australia's XI to capable the void astatine archetypal driblet of nary different than Ricky Ponting, who had been felled by a breached finger. Khawaja was unleashed against England successful January 2011 and, though helium managed scores of lone 37 and 21, his poise and finesse astatine the crease near a striking impression.
It was a dramatically transformed Khawaja who peeled disconnected duplicate centuries erstwhile his Test vocation returned to the venue of its inception aboriginal this month. While Steve Smith and the precocious Phillip Hughes were Khawaja's lone teammates younger than him successful his debut Test, lone David Warner was older erstwhile helium returned to the XI successful Sydney for his 45th appearance. Khawaja took stance for the Australian nationalist anthem not arsenic a rising imaginable with unbridled imaginable but a seasoned who, arsenic a effect of Travis Head's affirmative COVID-19 test, had been talented an unexpected callback little than a period aft his 35th birthday. Nic Maddinson had been added to the Australian squad arsenic cover, but selectors backed Khawaja arsenic the stop-gap man. A weathered cricketer who the selectors had punted from the squad connected truthful galore occasions, astir precocious aft the Leeds Test of the 2019 Ashes, was backmost successful the fold.
The cricket satellite is craving much of Khawaja aft his 45 outings successful the baggy greenish – and not lone due to the fact that of the stop-start travel his vocation has travelled, but the splendid aesthetics of his strokeplay. Among his sparkling array of drives, propulsion shots, slog sweeps, reverse sweeps and cuts past week was a delicate precocious chopped for 4 disconnected the bowling of Stuart Broad, the seasoned first-class campaigner guiding a transportation to the fine-leg bound conscionable aft reaching 50 successful his 2nd dig. It was sublime. Eleven years aft pulling Chris Tremlett for 4 successful glorious manner disconnected the 2nd shot of his debut Test innings, Khawaja's beauteous batsmanship was again connected display. David Gower, Mark Waugh and Damien Martyn had graced bygone eras with poesy astatine the crease, and Khawaja, astatine archetypal with a Gray-Nicolls and present a DSC, has followed successful a akin vein.
Khawaja strikes duplicate SCG centuries
The selectors' determination to callback Head for the Hobart Test astatine the disbursal of embattled opener Marcus Harris has fixed Khawaja a changeable astatine reinvention. Rounding retired his mercurial Test vocation with duplicate hundreds would person made for an unthinkable denouement, but helium present has a accidental to stamp himself arsenic a mainstay of the Australian XI, redirecting his travel similar Rogers.
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For galore years it appeared that Rogers would discontinue arsenic a subordinate of the one-Test club, having filled successful for an injured Matthew Hayden astatine the WACA successful 2008 earlier repeatedly losing retired to respective different opening candidates, including Phil Jacques, Simon Katich, Hughes, Shane Watson and Ed Cowan.
But the rugged left-hander won backmost a spot successful the Australian XI astatine the property of 35 and seized his accidental successful emphatic style. Between the ages of 35 and 37, helium garnered 1996 runs astatine 44.35, including 5 centuries and a apical people of 173. No subordinate from Australia nor England tallied much runs crossed the 10 Ashes Tests of 2013 and 2014 than Rogers.
Will Pucovski, Henry Hunt, Bryce Street and Tim Ward are among those who could marque a presumption astatine the apical of Australia's bid their ain successful the adjacent future, but it's Khawaja who'll articulation Warner successful the mediate successful Hobart.
Like Rogers, helium could fastener up that spot for 2 years successful the 2nd fractional of his 30s, opening with the last Test of the Ashes and continuing with 2022 visits to Pakistan, Sri Lanka and India. A instrumentality to Australia for different location summertime follows connected the calendar, earlier Pat Cummins' men embark connected their 2023 Ashes circuit of England.
Khawaja, present successful the finest interaction of his life, could decorativeness his Test vocation arsenic a unchangeable fixture astatine the apical of Australia's order.
A aureate chance, afforded to him pursuing a aureate instrumentality to the Test scene, lies ahead.
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