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Khawaja In Trouble For Calling Perth Pitch ‘S**t’ as Cricket Australia Seek Explanation
Follow UsKhawaja now finds himself in trouble both on and off the field
Under-fire Australia opener Usman Khawaja has now landed in hot water off the field as well, over comments he made about the pitch in the first Ashes Test in Perth.
Speaking candidly at a charity event earlier this week, Khawaja called the Perth pitch ‘s**t’, admonishing the day one surface which saw a whopping 19 wickets fall on it.
"You can't really predict up and down. Up and down is the hardest - sideways is a little bit easier but up and down your hands can't catch up. So day one wicket at [Perth] is a piece of s***, I'm happy to say that. It has been last year, it was this year,” he said, referring to both the first Ashes Test and the first Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test against India last year.
Now, days before the Brisbane Test, these comments have landed him trouble as Cricket Australia are set to summon the 39-year-old and seek clarification over the comments he made.
According to a Sydney Morning Herald report, “CA hierarchy are believed to be privately disappointed in Khawaja’s comments. While mindful of Khawaja’s focus on the second Gabba Test, a day-night affair which begins on Thursday, CA plan to seek an explanation from Khawaja at some point before deciding if any sanction is necessary.”
Khawaja’s comments came at an interesting juncture as the ICC, after assessing the pitch, had given it a ‘very good’ rating, concluding in their report that wickets fell in clumps more due to the batting rather than the surface. Plus, in a press release yesterday, CA also had expressed satisfaction over the Perth pitch.
“The match referee’s ‘very good’ rating justifies our belief Perth Stadium produced a pitch that provided a fair balance between bat and ball,” CA chief of cricket James Allsopp said.
Khawaja has been named in the squad for the Brisbane Test, but he’s not a certainty to be in the XI, with Josh Inglis, who smashed a century for CA XI against England Lions last week, breathing down his neck. There’s also a strong chance of Travis Head continuing to open, and Australia bringing in Beau Webster in place of Khawaja.