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JOIN OUR WHATSAPP CHANNEL Australia’s first Muslim Test cricketer and one of the most dependable batters of the modern era, has officially announced his retirement from international cricket, bringing an end to a remarkable career that spanned 15 years at the highest level. The 39-year-old made the announcement during a press conference at the Sydney Cricket Ground ahead of the final Test of the Ashes series. Khawaja confirmed that the match in Sydney will be his final appearance in international cricket. The moment carried strong emotional weight, as his parents, wife, and two daughters were present at the venue when…
“Nice ball, Todd.” Those knowing words from Steve Smith after an overspun off-break fizzed off the SCG practice pitch and into the splice of his bat did more than he could have known to validate the journey Todd Murphy has been on. A call-up for the country’s most credentialled Test spinner outside Nathan Lyon might have seemed like a fait accompli when the 567-wicket star went down midway through this Ashes campaign. Yet, only months ago, Murphy might not have been so confident his stock ball would trouble one of the world’s leading players of spin quite like the one…
Spinner Shoaib Bashir and seam-bowler Matthew Potts have been included in England’s 12-player squad for the fifth Ashes Test against Australia, with Gus Atkinson ruled out. Atkinson, who is out due to a hamstring injury, is the only absentee from the team that won the fourth Test in Melbourne. No 3 batter Ollie Pope is again left out. The tourists have already surrendered the urn but, having won a two-day shootout in Melbourne, are hoping to cut their losses by leaving with successive victories and a 3-2 scoreline. Potts and Bashir have both been named in a 12-man squad for Sunday’s fifth…
Opener says England gained great confidence from their victory at the MCG as they bid to end the series down 3-2 England opener Zak Crawley has warned their batters will take the attack to Todd Murphy if the spinner is selected for his first Test in Australia. After being left out for the two-day debacle at the MCG, Murphy is in contention to play in the Ashes finale in Sydney. The 25-year-old played two Tests in the 2023 Ashes series after Nathan Lyon tore his calf muscle. England went after Murphy at Headingley, with Ben Stokes hitting five sixes off…
Australia’s Steve Smith says he has no plans to follow team-mate Usman Khawaja into international retirement, increasing the prospect of one last Ashes trip to England.Smith, speaking ahead of the final Test of this winter’s series in Sydney from Sunday, will be 38 when the Baggy Greens tour England in the summer of 2027. The batter has never won an Ashes series overseas, although has drawn the previous two, in 2019 and 2023. Smith told reporters at the SCG, as 39-year-old Khawaja bows out where he played his first Test in 2011: “With Usman dropping off now, that’s one of…
Australia’s Steve Smith says he has no plans to follow team-mate Usman Khawaja into international retirement, increasing the prospect of one last Ashes trip to England. Spreaker This content is provided by Spreaker, which may be using cookies and other technologies. To show you this content, we need your permission to use cookies. You can use the buttons below to amend your preferences to enable Spreaker cookies or to allow those cookies just once. You can change your settings at any time via the Privacy Options. Unfortunately we have been unable to verify if you have consented to Spreaker cookies.…
Usman Khawaja has hit out against a culture of “racial stereotypes” in coverage of Australian cricket, declaring the sport is “still very white” as he announced his international retirement.The fifth Ashes Test in Khawaja’s hometown of Sydney will be the final act of a 15-year career in the Baggy Green and the 39-year-old is not going quietly. The Pakistan-born batter, Australia’s first Muslim Test cricketer, spoke for over 45 minutes at the SCG on Friday morning, telling reporters he was “off the leash now” as he railed against perceived inequalities in his treatment. While many of his grievances were historic,…
A pressure Ashes ton, Birmingham 2023 Fresh off winning the ICC World Test Championship in 2023, Australia turned their attention to their arch-rivals England with the aim to retain the Ashes. By then, Usman Khawaja had firmly cemented his place alongside David Warner as Australia’s premier opener, and he again showcased his brillaince with a stellar performance in the opening Test of the series. In the first innings, Khawaja produced another masterclass in patience and control, crafting a superb 141 that formed the backbone of Australia’s reply as they finished just seven runs behind England first innings total. True to…
In full: Usman Khawaja’s retirement press conference There was a sense of déjà vu watching Jacob Bethell’s impressive little cameo last Saturday afternoon at the MCG. Something in the stylish stroke-play from an Ashes debutant, and the hope his 40 runs offered to a country still coming to terms with the manner in which the summer had hitherto unfolded. Fifteen years ago, in a match that has been much discussed recently given it had for all this time been England’s most recent Test win in Australia, another promising young left-hander announced himself in the Ashes cauldron. Picked to debut for…
The best of Usman Khawaja’s Test career A forthright Usman Khawaja says he is still fighting prejudicial stereotypes in his final summer as an Australian cricketer with the retiring batter suggesting there were racial overtones to the criticism he received on his preparation for the Ashes series opener. In an impassioned, almost hour-long address to media two days out from the Sydney Test that will mark his international farewell, Khawaja revealed he raised the prospect of hanging up his boots as early as last summer’s India series before ultimately deciding his time was up during last month’s Adelaide Test when…