Australia batsman Usman Khawaja has branded the Perth pitch for the first Ashes Test ‘a piece of s***’, despite the surface receiving the highest possible grading from the ICC.
Khawaja batted only once in the game because of back spasms, dropping to No 4 from his usual position as opener and fending Brydon Carse to England wicketkeeper Jamie Smith after he had scored just two.
There has since been speculation that the 38-year-old may be dropped for next week’s second Test at Brisbane following Travis Head’s spectacular second-innings century at Perth Stadium after his promotion to opener.
And Khawaja’s astonishing comments will not have endeared him to the Australian hierarchy, especially after the ICC declared the surface ‘very good’
‘Nineteen wickets on the first day, about 20 people got hit – that’s a great wicket, that seems real fair?’ said Khawaja, before referring to the 17 that fell on the first day at Perth a year ago against India. ‘The same thing happened last year, that day one wicket…’
Khawaja went on: ‘Steve Smith is by far the best cricketer I’ve played with. He’s missing the middle of his bat by a long way, and he does not miss the middle of the bat. You can’t really predict up and down [bounce]. Your hands can’t catch up.
Australia’s Usman Khawaja has called the Perth pitch for the first Ashes Test ‘a piece of s***’
Khawaja is sweating over his place in the team after Travis Head (above) masterfully opened the batting in the second innings to win the first Test, which lasted just two days in Perth
‘The day one wicket is a piece of s***, I’m happy to say that. They do get better day two, day three, but day four they start to crack up again.
‘We know day two and day three is usually the best time to bat. That’s why whenever we play at Perth and we win the toss we bat first, hoping that we can bat again maybe end of day two into day three.’
Khawaja was earlier named as part of an unchanged 14-man squad for Brisbane, with Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood still absent injured.
