Opinion
The fourth Test of this skewed Ashes series will always go down as Usman Khawaja’s finest cricket moments for his rare scoring feat of twin centuries in Sydney, the English press lauded.
Khawaja’s effortless unbeaten hundred in the second innings has put the Aussies in pole position to go 4-0 up in the series (weather permitting) as the battle-weary Englishmen lick their wounds and assess their mounting injury toll at the fag end of a sorry tour.
“Elegant, easy on the eye, Khawaja makes batting look simple and in one Test has scored more runs than all of England’s batsmen apart from the captain,” gushed The Telegraph’s Nick Hoult.
“Khawaja showed off the batting depth England so seriously lack with his second hundred of the match. His century was effortless again and a career has been revitalised over the past four days.”
“Khawaja, recalled at the age of 35, made an unbeaten 101 to add to his first innings 137 to become the first batsman to score twin centuries in an Ashes Test at the SCG, and only the sixth for Australia against England.”
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – JANUARY 08: Usman Khawaja of Australia celebrates and acknowledges the crowd after hitting a century during day four of the Fourth Test Match in the Ashes series between Australia and England at Sydney Cricket Ground on January 08, 2022 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Mark Metcalfe – CA/Cricket Australia via Getty Images)
“Whatever the outcome on the final day, the fourth Test of this one-sided Ashes series will always be remembered as Usman Khawaja’s match after the returning son of Sydney followed his emotional century on day two with a stylish sequel on the fourth,” saluted The Guardian’s Ali Martin.
“Once Khawaja and Cameron Green had doused the flames of 86 of four after lunch, a team with two fatigued seamers north of 35-years-old in Stuart Broad and Jimmy Anderson, and no all-rounder to share the grunt work, ran out of options in the blistering sunshine.”
The Daily Mail’s Lawrence Booth said for the second time in three days, the SCG rose to salute a hundred from Khawaja, who became only the third player – after Doug Walters and Ricky Ponting – to score two in a Sydney Test.
“If his second-innings century was made in less taxing circumstances than his first, it ticked similar boxes: elegant, unruffled, and occasionally violent – especially on the pull – it was the work of a player determined to make up for lost time,” Booth extolled.
“Ridiculously, Australia’s selectors must now decide whether to give Khawaja another Test at Hobart. Travis Head, who was his team’s leading run-scorer in this series before COVID ruled him out of this game, is available again, and there seems little appetite to fiddle with the batting order by leaving out opener Marcus Harris.”
Seasoned cricket watcher Scyld Berry delved into history in saluting Khawaja’s achievement, saying he combined the virtues of his ancient and modern predecessors to remind everyone of his elegance.
“Usman Khawaja’s first century was superlative, as it began in defence then excluded England from any possibility of a comeback win. His second was sublime, a masterpiece that expedited Australia’s declaration, and established his place in the annals,” Berry observed in the Telegraph.
“Khawaja, given his old-fashioned balance at the crease and the fact he never appears to hit the ball too hard, echoes the first two Australians to achieve this feat of rubbing English noses into the dirt twice over.
“Arthur Morris – who opened the batting prolifically after the Second World War, except when Alec Bedser was bowling at him – and Warren Bardsley, who, batting either side of the First World War, had by all reports something of the compactness and dapperness of Khawaja when he tucked the ball legside or leaned into cover drives.”
Yet behind the lustre of Khawaja’s much-admired stroke-making, there are deep recriminations inside the English media over this failed series.
The Telegraph’s Oliver Brown
took the long handle to the bowlers.
“For all the laments over the state of England’s batting this series, a similar inquisition is warranted into the bowling,” Brown scowled.
“Rarely has it appeared even remotely penetrating enough: in four Tests, Australia have been bowled out just twice. For all the plaudits attracted by Stuart Broad’s five-for in Sydney, he still went for 101 runs.
“There was little suggestion of an encore either, as he and fellow old stager James Anderson both went wicketless, their lines and lengths deftly dealt with by the wily Khawaja.
“Alas, this attack has not yet come close to ripping through the Australian batting order. Just as Travis Head took the game away from England in Brisbane, Khawaja has gladly embraced the role of saboteur in Sydney.”
Simon Hughes, in The Times, said it was time for someone else to take over the captaincy from Joe Root.
“There have been other odd strategies the blame for which could be placed at the captain’s door,” Hughes opined.
“The true skill of a captain is in recognising times and moments in games where momentum is in the balance and can be shifted one way or the other. Getting these choices right is one way of making the most of your players.
“His employment of Jack Leach and the field settings for him, for instance, have been perplexing.
“In isolation some of these decisions seem trivial. But collectively they suggest a lack of clarity in how to influence matches and that has a bearing on the mentality and psychology of the team. Seeing these small opportunities slip away has a deflating effect on morale.
“Root will know he hasn’t managed to make the most of (limited) resources and will reflect that, in the interests of the team and his own sanity, that it may be a worthwhile idea to let someone else have a go while he still has a full head of hair.”
Amid all the wreckage, there was recognition and praise for stout-hearted Durham lightning quick Mark Wood.
Australia is a tour that breaks bodies and minds. It has already seen off Rory Burns and Pope, dropped after two poor Tests, and the walking wounded count in this game numbers Bairstow (thumb), Buttler (hand) and Ben Stokes (side),” wrote former England captain Mike Atherton in The Times.
“Who knows what combination they will put out in Hobart, but if Wood plays it will equal the most he has played in a Test series before and will be testament to his physical conditioning. It will also be an indictment of his non-selection in Adelaide when the series was alive.
“Wood is not among the top wicket-takers in this series. Four Australian bowlers have taken more than his eight. Ollie Robinson has taken more for England.
“But Wood’s evident spirit and spunk has been plain to see in the furious way he has bowled and in his gung-ho batting here that helped England to get beyond the follow-on mark. The circumstances of this difficult tour have not diminished him.”
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