Fearless Khawaja ‘incredible to watch’

CRICKET: Shane Watson believes it’s the environment created at the Sydney Thunder that allows Usman Khawaja to play without fear and showcase himself as one of the world’s best.

Khawaja hit a blistering 85 against the Perth Scorchers – his fifth consecutive half-century for the Big Bash outfit.

And Watson says it’s the freedom afforded to Khawaja, without the pressure that comes with playing for the national team, that enables him to thrive.

“He doesn’t have that fear of failure,” Watson said.

“There’s not that extra scrutiny around whether he’s going to play or not, whether he’s in the team or not in the team. That means you’re thinking about getting out, whereas on Wednesday night all he was thinking about was where and how far he was going to hit the ball.

“It’s a different mentality and it’s sad to see when that pressure really engulfs someone so much, and it does – it happened to me a lot.

“I know from my experience that when there’s talk of people getting dropped it puts more pressure on you to perform, knowing that if you make a mistake your dream of playing for Australia is off.”

The former Test all-rounder believes it’s vital for any dressing room to have an environment with no fear in order to get the best out of players.

“We’ve just got to continue creating that environment, whether that’s here or Australia, to be able to see that Usman, because it’s incredible to watch,” Watson said.

“To be able to see him play with that much freedom just shows he’s one of the best batsmen in the world.”

Strikers v Scorchers, 3.10pm, Sixers v Thunder 6.20pm (all times AEST)