HIGH HOPES
Khawaja plays straight bat on Aussie cricket crisis
USMAN Khawaja is making strong progress in his bid to play the first Test of the home summer but is staying out of the off-field politics that has sabotaged the Australian game.
A slim-lined Khawaja, 10kg lighter than he was on the South Africa tour in March, is making a steady recovery from knee surgery after breaking down in the second Test against Pakistan in Abu Dhabi. “The knee is going pretty well so far,’’ Khawaja said. “I ran at 100 per cent yesterday on the treadmill and will hopefully run outside tomorrow. In an ideal world I would play a Shield game before the first Test (against India in Adelaide from December 6). That is the target.’’
Khawaja concedes Australian cricket is being buffeted by the winds of change which have seen a string of resignations and sackings including high performance boss Pat Howard.
“I got along with Pat. It is never a nice thing to see someone lose their job no matter who it is.
“There is obviously a lot of change going on in Australian cricket. As players we try and stay out of it ... to be honest all I care about is the team. I am not a part of that other stuff so it is hard for me to comment on what is going on.’’
Khawaja, reasserted himself as a Test player with a career-defining century against Pakistan and is now craving to revive his 50 over international career before the World Cup in England next year.
For that reason he is disappointed to be missing the current series against South Africa.
“I felt like I was putting my hand up and I really wanted to get among it if selected. Targeting that World Cup is a big thing. It is one of my major goals,’’ he said.
“But there are plenty of opportunities. I was pretty down and that was one of the reasons why.
“I have done well for Queensland over the years in oneday cricket and feel I could do well (in the Australian side) but at the moment I am still injured.”
WITH the distinctive Lloyd Pope looming on the horizon, Adam Zampa has a golden chance to make a statement about his future in Australian cricket today at Adelaide Oval.
The talented leg-spinner and top three stalwart Shaun Marsh are set to return for the second one-day match against South Africa, with captain Aaron Finch praising Zampa for enhancing his wicket-taking potency during his stint out of the team.
D’Arcy Short and fast bowler Nathan Coulter-Nile shape as the two players most likely to make way to accommodate the changes as selectors continue to tinker with a line-up that desperately needs to find some cohesion soon with a World Cup defence looming in six months’ time.
Marsh batted strongly in the nets yesterday and is confident he is fit to return just days after having surgery to remove an abscess from his buttocks.
The left-hander was Australia’s best one-day batsman in England this year and is motivated by the knowledge he can cement his place in the Test side with a big innings.
Australia’s treatment of spinners in one-day cricket since Xavier Doherty played the last World Cup in 2015 has resembled a game of musical chairs.
Nathan Lyon and Ashton Agar have come and gone, and are still in the mix, while wrong-un bowling sensation Pope has come on to the radar.
However, after expressing frustration at himself being dropped from the ODI tour of the UK in June, Zampa will be today restored to the box seat of spinners vying for their place in the World Cup squad.
“He’s been exceptional since he came back in,” Finch said. “He’s someone we’re looking at as a genuine wicket-taker.
“From what I’ve seen so far in our centre wicket stuff and nets he’s a lot more consistent than he was.”
A final call will be made on Marsh on match morning but the expectation is he will return as the No.3.