Usman Khawaja, the Australian opener, 38, gave his opinion on the 15-member national squad for the five-match Ashes Test series at home against England, starting on November 21 at the Optus Stadium in Perth.
The veteran stated the Australian cricket team are at their best when Marnus Labuschagne scores runs at No. 3 for them after playing with him for the majority of his career in the national setup in the longest format of the game.
Notably, Marnus Labuschagne has an impressive record at the Test level for Australia, scoring 4,435 runs in 58 matches at an average of 46.19 with 11 centuries to his name. After being dropped from the Australian Test squad for the West Indies series in July due to poor form, he went on an absolute tear in domestic cricket recently. He notched up five hundreds for Queensland to force his way back into the team for the Ashes series.
In his latest interview to Fox Cricket, Usman Khawaja spoke at length about his compatriot Marnus Labuschagne, stating that, “Obviously my personal opinion, but I think our best team is always when Marnus is scoring runs at No. 3. “I think of it as an opposition player. I put myself out of the Australian cricket team and I think, ‘Well, if I was the English captain, what team wouldn’t I want?’ And it’s always when you have Marnus scoring runs at three, (Steve) Smith four, and (Travis) Head five. At the moment, that’s our best side.”
I’ve played a lot of cricket against him.. he’s a terrific player: Usman Khawaja on Jake Weatherald
Usman Khawaja also commented on the newcomer Jake Weatherald in the Australian squad for the Ashes series at home. He was quoted as saying, “He (Jake Weatherald) has been knocking the door down. I’ve played a lot of cricket against him.. he’s a terrific player. When he is playing well, he’s a guy who knows how to keep the momentum going and score runs.” It is understood that Weatherald is in contention to open the innings alongside Khawaja for Australia in the five Tests against England.
Moreover, Usman Khawaja further stated that he wants “to go out there, score runs, and win games for Australia, and win the Ashes for Australia”.
