BASKETBALL:

Khawaja says Aussies won’t ‘get lazy’ after series opener joy

AUSTRALIAN batsman Usman Khawaja put the Edgbaston victory in his top five of Test wins but said the back-towork mentality of a tour game ensured the Aussies wouldn’t “get lazy” with four more Tests to go.

Most of the 17-man Ashes squad had just one day to bask in the glory of the droughtbreaking first Test win, with 11 turning out for a three-day tour game in Worcester on Wednesday. Fast bowlers Peter Siddle and James Pattinson travelled to the West Midlands city but didn’t play.

Dual hundred-maker Steve Smith was given time off after his Birmingham efforts which Khawaja labelled “exceptional”, but also not surprising, despite the match being his first Test after a 12-month ban.

“I’ve seen him do it so often, it was just like another day at the office. He’s scored 25 Test hundreds,” Khawaja said after making 51 against Worcestershire.

“I’ve played with him for a long time, I’ve seen him do that for a long time.

“His hunger, his decisionmaking is the best in the world in Test cricket. The way he backs up hundreds after hundreds, when he gets on a roll, he keeps it going.

“To come back first game the way he did was exceptional, and the team is really stoked for him, really happy for him, to get a win there too was the icing on the cake.”

The victory was Khawaja’s first in England, which ensured it was high on his list of best wins.

“Yeah, it would have to be top five at least,” he said.

“I have never won in England. I’ve played three Test matches here (all in 2013), and it’s never easy. Test victories are never easy anywhere.

“But the way we played, the way Steve played throughout the Test match and the contributions everyone had … it was a culmination of a lot of hard work.

The 32-year-old, who made scores of 13 and 40 in the first Test, conceded it was “tough” to have to stop the celebrations after Monday’s victory and get straight back to work.

But he also understood how important it was to not get caught up in the emotion of one win in a five-Test series.

“We played, travelled, and came here, you don’t do that very often. I was a little bit sore waking up but you are mentally trying to get right,” he said.