Usman Khawaja sweeps aside his Asian demons
Off the back of years of criticism over his game against spin, Usman Khawaja produced one of the finest knocks by an Australia batsman in Asia, almost single-handedly bringing his side a draw in a classic Test in the UAE against Pakistan. Stylishly, doggedly, he saw off a world-class attack for over 300 deliveries, guiding an inexperienced batting line-up through almost their 140 overs, the fourth longest any side has batted in the final dig of a Test in this country. This was, almost to the letter, the kind of innings people said Khawaja couldn’t play.
You can have some sympathy with Khawaja’s critics. Averaging 14.62 in Asia, it’s hard to refute the argument that you can’t play spin when the numbers say when you go to Asia, spinners dismiss you every 34 balls. In his five Tests in these conditions before this tour, Khawaja had made 117 runs. But if ever one innings can transform the reputation of a player, this was it.
Transformations are rather the flavour of the day because the approach Khawaja brought to Dubai is one we’ve never seen from him before. In the face of relentless scepticism regarding his ability to make runs in these conditions, he has transformed his game. This technical restructuring has seen him almost completely dismantle his previous strategy, and rebuild it with three key changes – an increase in attacking intent, a willingness to come down the track more regularly and sweeping more frequently.
Underpinning it all is that first point. Attacking spinners has always been Khawaja’s strength. Across his Test career, when attacking spin, he has been dismissed every 72 deliveries, compared to every 70 deliveries when he plays a defensive stroke. He has always been comfortable going at the slower bowlers, his issues coming when trying to survive. So, it makes sense to build his strategy around that innate strength. For Khawaja, intent doesn’t come at the expense of security; increased security comes as a result of intent.
ATTACK MORE
Within that decision to attack more, he chose to use his feet far more than he has done previously when batting in Asia. He’s more than trebled the frequency at which he’s danced down the wicket to spinners, disturbing their length and limiting the impact of any turn they’re able to find.
At one tense moment, Khawaja’s trust in the tactic was evident. When Mohammad Hafeez took the second new ball, the Pakistan veteran immediately removed the set Travis Head. The skiddy qualities associated with Hafeez, and the new ball itself, meant hanging back was a treacherous option. Khawaja reflected on this, and stepped up his charge percentage. In the first full over he faced from Hafeez, Khawaja went down the track to four deliveries, not letting the offspinner trap him in the crease. Those advances brought two boundaries, but it was essentially a defensive method, and an effective one at that.
SWEEPING SUCCESS
When he did stay at home, Khawaja didn’t prod or nudge – he swept, a lot; significantly more than on previous visits to Asia – he swept the spinners 36 times in his century, and 38 of his 141 runs came in this manner. He swept spin 52 times in the Test. In his entire career before this match, he’d swept the spinners on 80 occasions meaning 40% of the sweeps Khawaja has played against spin have come in this Test.
Equally, it wasn’t just about the number of times he used the sweep option, but the flexibility with which he played it. Before this Test, just 10% of Khawaja’s sweeps in Asia were reversesweeps; in this Test, it was 46%. The increased access to the offside, provided without having to indulge in the notoriously difficult task of cutting the spinner, is vital. It allowed him to manipulate the field almost like an ODI batsman – he could tick along with greater ease, intent without aggression or undue risk. Eventually the shot led to his dismissal, but it was a defining feature of his batting, a key reason why he lasted as long as he did.
One result of this has been Khawaja reducing his dependency on scoring in the ‘V’. Before this Test, 27% of his runs against spin in Asia were in the ‘V’, between mid-on and mid-off. In Dubai, that dropped to 12%.
The more intangible result of these three crucial changes is that Khawaja looked completely at ease in the middle. He is always an elegant batsman, but it wasn’t fluid, reactive strokeplay; it was proactive, his precise strategy dictating the play.
The results this transformation produced were astonishing. This was the highest score by an Australian batsman in the fourth innings of an Asian Test. At 524 minutes, it was the longest (time at the crease) an Australian has ever batted in the fourth innings of a Test.
The success has taken time. Some players, like Michael Clarke, waltz in and look immediately at home, that former Australia skipper making a century on debut in Bangalore, and within a year making another in New Zealand, then a 91 at Lord’s. But there is something beautiful about a sportsperson ticking the final box, succeeding in a manner they were told they never could.
Virat Kohli finally succeeded in England; Dan Carter won the (rugby) World Cup in 2011 and golfer Sergio Garcia the Masters in
2017. There’s a sense that having invested in these players despite their flaws, when they overcome them then the success is sweeter.
And make no mistake, this was a great innings; and would have remained one even if Tim Paine and Nathan Lyon had slogged two up in the air in the last over. It was about the 302-ball spectacle of a man redesigning his batsmanship, taking it apart and putting it back together to achieve a goal which looked to be beyond him. In doing so, he may have permanently changed the way the Australian public perceives him – perhaps the greatest achievement of all.