Khawaja and Pakistan: A Man Meeting His Moment
By Daniel Brettig
Usman Khawaja on day four of the Lahore Test - Picture courtesy AP
For most of the past three years, a Test match recall for Usman Khawaja and a full Australian men’s tour of Pakistan each sat at a similarly remote level of probability.
To watch Khawaja dominate for Australia in the land of his birth, surpassing all but Mark Taylor in terms of runs scored in a series in Pakistan, was to see a serendipity at work in the most rewarding of ways. It had all seemed so unlikely.
The selectors and former head coach Justin Langer had seemingly moved on from Khawaja, discarding him during the 2019 Ashes to retain and then persist with Marcus Harris.
At the higher administrative level, Cricket Australia’s (CA) aversion to even the most remote of risks when touring piled up cancelled or rescheduled tours even as most other nations forged on for Test series through the non-vaccine passages of COVID-19.
As for Pakistan, that had been off the table since 2002, and out of the negotiation room altogether after the Lahore terror attack visited on Sri Lanka and match officials in 2009.
In the end, both outcomes were forced upon Australia as much as they were sought. Khawaja pushed to the front of the queue with runs and leadership for Queensland, then gained a chance when COVID ruled out Travis Head for an Ashes Test. Twin hundreds at the SCG brooked no argument for his retention.
Similarly, international pressure on CA to be a more giving global citizen was ramped up around the world - particularly after the outcry that followed a late decision to withdraw from the 2020 South Africa tour. At the same time the PCB, a willing player of neutral series for nearly two decades, presented a staunch case for a safe visit.
In late 2021, at a time when he was no guarantee of a recall, Khawaja had spoken loudly in favor of touring. “I feel it’s very easy for players and organizations to say no to Pakistan, because it’s Pakistan,” he said. “I think the same thing would apply too, if it were Bangladesh. But nobody would say no to India.
“Money talks, we all know that, and that’s probably a big part of it. They keep proving time and time again through their tournaments that they’re a safe place to play cricket. I think there’s no reason why we shouldn’t go back.”
So it was that at the time Australia’s players and officials were making their final deliberations, an advocate for the trip was back in their midst. Khawaja’s words and personal experience were vital to the whole exercise going ahead, a meeting of the right man and the right moment.
Beyond the fitting nature of Khawaja’s achievements, though, have been solid decisions and processes around how to play in Pakistan, finding a balance between defense and attack that none of his teammates have been able to sustain for anywhere near as long.
Even during the SCG Test, on a pitch that was slowish but by no means particularly similar to those in Pakistan, Khawaja had demonstrated a range of shots and tempo of play ideally suited to this series.
He had worked assiduously to improve his strike rotation and ability to disrupt the line and length of spin bowlers in earlier years, proving the soundness of his chosen methods in the UAE in 2018.
This is not to say that Khawaja has not adapted to the individual challenges of each bowler and each match. While he used the reverse sweep frequently in Rawalpindi, to the point of getting out to it on 97, Khawaja then shelved it for much of the final two Tests, reasoning he had made his point to the home spin bowlers.
Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah and Hasan Ali were neutralized with soft hands, plenty of runs scored behind point on the off side, and the occasional whip-crack pull shot whenever they dropped short.
On day four, in a third innings that required positivity, Khawaja again found the right balance, albeit in the initial slipstream of David Warner. Playing his best innings of the series, Warner dictated terms to Shaheen early on, climbing into anything short, and quickly building the lead before the ball started to reverse.
Once Shaheen had found a sharp away seamer to defeat Warner, Khawaja fashioned 50 stands with Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith, all the while looking every inch the match of Australia’s two most lauded batters of the past three years. When his century arrived, the celebration was heartfelt.
Cummins’ declaration took place when Australia could easily have rolled on for another few overs, putting the target entirely out of Pakistan’s reach.
But in risking defeat to pursue victory, Cummins demonstrated the generosity of spirit that has exemplified both Khawaja’s late career bloom and the first Australian visit to Pakistan since 1998. He has ensured that this series will end memorably, whichever way it falls. – Courtesy The Age
