Australia opening batter Usman Khawaja was literally all the cricket fans during the final few minutes of the first Test match of Ashes 2023 at Edgbaston. Much to his delight, Australia ended up on the winning side with a victory by 2 wickets in what turned out to be a great advertisement of Test cricket.
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With a mere two wickets remaining in the bank, the visitors seemed to be down and out after they were left to score 54 runs en route a target of 281 runs. The little hope now rested on the Aussie skipper Pat Cummins (44*) and spinner Nathan Lyon (16*) to take their team over the line and register the joint second-highest successful run-chase at the venue in this format.
The absolutely determined pair stood their ground. They stitched an unbeaten partnership worth 55 (72) for the ninth wicket and buried the infamous memories of the Birmingham Test Ashes 2005.
Usman Khawaja Revals Emotions During Roller Coaster Finish To Birmingham Test
While speaking to host broadcaster Sky Sports Cricket during the post-match presentation ceremony, Khawaja revealed how he was nervously watching the match from the changing room at a delay. He further stated how he had watched the 2005 Ashes Test at this very venue by staying up late as the Aussies had agonizingly lost the match back then by 2 runs.
“Not going to lie, I was absolutely s***ing myself for the last five minutes there. It’s so heart-wrenching. An unbelievable game. I watched 2005, stayed up late.”
Khawaja was the standout performer for the visitors during the match and returned with the ‘Player of the Match‘ award for his scores of 141 and 65 during the first and second innings respectively.
While Australia had lost the 2005 Edgbaston Test, the match was very much similar to the one which ended tonight with respect to the contribution from the tail-enders. While the lower-order batters in Cummins, Lyon, and Scott Boland contributed with scores of 44*, 16*, and 20 during the fourth innings, it was the trio of Brett Lee (43*), Shane Warne (42) and Michael Kasprowicz (20) who had nearly seen their team home back then.
Usman Khawaja Cherishes One Of His Favourite Tests
Khawaja further stated that he rates the recently concluded Birmingham Test as one of his favourite Test matches due to the uncertainty of result till the final few minutes.
“It’s right up there, an Ashes, I’ve had some hard times here. The ebb and flow, no one had the game until the end. One of my favourite Tests. Tough work [on previous tours] but nice to get off to a good start on this one.”
During the previous Ashes tour in 2019, Khawaja had managed to score just 122 runs across six innings at an average of 20.33 without a single half-century under his name.
