Opinion
Stuart Broad delivered one of his trademark ripostes to being left out in this series but it was Usman Khawaja’s glorious return to Test cricket that stole the show in the fourth Ashes Test, the English press pack conceded.
The 35-year-old Broad, overlooked at the start of the Ashes in Brisbane and then again in Melbourne as England crashed to a 3-0 series defeat, once again proved a point with his 19th five-wicket haul in Test cricket and his 125th wicket in Ashes cricket.
But it was the languid Khawaja who scooped up most of the second day plaudits with his heartwarming 137 on his Test return to put Australia in a commanding position as they chase to make it 4-0 in the series.
“In one innings Khawaja scored more runs than all but two England batsmen in this entire series, and it put his team in a totally dominant position after two days,” The Telegraph’s Nick Hoult wrote.
“England would be delighted to have such riches in reserve, capable of scoring the best hundred of the series on a cracked, two-paced pitch at the SCG.”
Isabelle Westbury, writing in the same paper, added with emphasis:: ”There has been much spoken of England’s disrupted preparation for this series.
“Yet Khawaja hasn’t had a game, with any ball colour, in the last couple of months, having dutifully accompanied Australia’s Test starters around the country since November last year. Walking out into the SCG middle however, seemed the most natural thing in the world for the Queensland captain. Undercooked? Not Khawaja.
(Photo by Mark Metcalfe – CA/Cricket Australia via Getty Images)
“No questions as to his appetite linger anymore. The way in which he bats may make it look like the simplest of chores; he’s fluent and graceful, calm and composed. But any nonchalance once perceived has now morphed into a patience, and an awareness of his own game.”
Former England captain Mike Atherton paid tribute to Khawaja’s batting “stylishness and elegance”
“Khawaja gave the patrons a moment to treasure when he went to an emotional second Ashes century on another day of Australian dominance,” Atherton observed in The Times.
“There was an echo of Steve Waugh’s famous hundred off the last ball of the 2002-03 Ashes Test when Khawaja beat the ticking clock in the final over before tea to a thunderous roar — a reflection on Khawaja’s enduring popularity here as well as the stylishness and elegance of his play.”
But while Khawaja was rightfully hogging the day’s headlines and highlight show reels, it was Broad who also enthused the British media contingent.
“Stuart Broad turned his sense of injustice into an Ashes five-for on his recall collecting his 19th five-wicket haul in Tests, a tally surpassed by only two other England bowlers: Jimmy Anderson has taken 31 and SF Barnes 24,” The Daily Mail’s Lawrence Booth noted.
“It was also his eighth five-for against Australia, which places him fourth on England’s all-time list, behind Barnes (with 12), the 19th-century seamer Tom Richardson (11) and Ian Botham (nine).
“As for Khawaja, it goes without saying on this tour of gaffes, blunders and mishaps that he was dropped along the way – by Root at slip off Leach when he had 28.
“Perhaps Root was distracted by the fact that the ball brushed the glove and thigh of wicketkeeper Jos Buttler en route. But good teams create other chances – and England, right now, are not a good team.”
Paul Newman, writing in the same paper, said Broad had once again proved a point after being left out on the two Ashes pitches that should have suited him most to take his 19th five-wicket haul in Test cricket.
“Broad, now in his 101st Test and with another impressive display behind him, said he wanted to play on in the tour of the Caribbean in March and beyond.”
The Guardian’s Andy Bull said Broad’s bowling heroics was “bittersweet” for England.
“It wasn’t his best bowling, Broad often takes his wickets in fits and sparks, there was none of that this time, just a lot of craft, sweat, and toil.
“It took him 29 overs – the last time he bowled that many in an innings in which he took five was back in 2009 – and there were moments when Khawaja, Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon were laying into him, when he looked just as vulnerable as any of his teammates,” Bull wrote.
“But he persisted, bowling a line and length that he’d often struggled to find on his previous three tours here. He drew more false shots from batsmen than he has done in the past, too. And he made his point. How bittersweet for the team that it came so late.”
Joe Root was taken to task for his captaincy and his use of bowlers Ben Stokes and Jack Leach.
The Telegraph’s Tim Wigmore pointed to Root’s overuse of Jofra Archer on England’s 2019 tour to New Zealand for another potential breakdown of star all rounder Ben Stokes, who could not bowl after straining his left side on day two.
“Root tasked Archer with the grunt work of fast bowling: pounding in and bowl short on placid tracks. Archer bowled 82 overs in 10 days. The strain almost certainly contributed to the plethora of injuries that Archer has suffered since,” Wigmore critiqued.
“A little over two years on and it was hard to see what had been learned. Having bowled one prized asset into the ground, rendering him unable to make the Ashes at all, Root now used another in the same way.
“This time it was Ben Stokes who was asked to perform the same role that he had given Archer in New Zealand. Naturally, Stokes gave all of himself to his task and after 23 balls of pounding the pitch, his left side gave way. England are now left awaiting news of how serious his injury is.”
Former England captain Nasser Hussain said that spinner Leach has been reduced to negative bowling.
“England must ask why Nathan Lyon is giving Australia such control and wicket-taking potential while Jack Leach is reduced to a holding role with negative bowling,” Hussain queried.
“It is a situation that has been a long time coming and is one England need to have a good hard look at when they conduct their inquest into this Ashes.
“Firstly Leach needs to get better. He has to look at how Lyon gets drop and drift and deceives the batsman before the ball lands without any hint of mystery. It means his captain can set attacking fields with men round the bat.
“But English cricket also needs to look at how they can bring into the Ashes a spinner who went virtually the whole of last summer without bowling.”
Simon Wilde, in The Times, was in agreement on the use of Leach in the series.
“England are entitled to some sympathy for their plight in Australia — the pandemic stuffed up their chances several ways over — but you to say that in many ways they deserve what they have got. They certainly do not merit a world-class spin bowler because they appear to have no idea how to cultivate one,” Wilde huffed.
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