The Ashes campaign in Australia took a serious hit when the spasm in Usman Khawaja’s back made him leave the pitch, which in turn upset their batting order! The 38-year-old opener was having difficulty with stiffness, and his limited presence resulted in an unexpected reorganization, with Steve Smith elevated to open along with Jake Weatherald.
Khawaja’s exit prompted the English bowlers to take a chance, and they did well, as they got Australia out for only 123/9 by the end of the day. Starc was the leading player in the Aussie lineup, and he disclosed that Khawaja’s back problems made the switch necessary. The day turned out to be excellent for Starc, as he got 7/58 and thereby helped England get out for 172. Will Australia be able to bounce back from this fragile beginning?
“I didn’t know about it until the ninth wicket.” – Mitchell Starc
Mitchell Starc disclosed that the back spasm of Usman Khawaja, which he suffered while he was off the field, caused Australia’s batting order to change unexpectedly on the first day of the first Ashes Test in Perth. Khawaja, who couldn’t bat in his regular position, came at No. 3 but got out cheaply as Australia was in a disastrous situation of 123-9 and still 49 runs behind England.
The 38-year-old batsman was compelled to leave the ground on two occasions while England was batting, which meant he could only come back at the end of a certain period of time in his regular position according to cricket’s playing conditions. Eventually, Khawaja came to the crease after the second wicket fell, just a few moments after Marnus Labuschagne was bowled for nine after dragging one onto his stumps. But the experienced left-hander could not make much of a contribution, giving a catch to the wicketkeeper off Brydon Carse for two as the Australian top order found it hard to get into their rhythm in the tough conditions.
In the post-match, Starc confessed that the players were not informed much about the condition of Khawaja, stating that the problem was only properly understood towards the end of the innings. “I didn’t know about it until the ninth wicket, when he still had maybe 10 minutes or so. Because he’d spent time off the field, I think he had a back spasm there the second time he came off, so we got caught off guard a little bit with the wickets falling pretty quickly at the back end,” he said.
The second day could be the most important day for Australia, as they would like to start making a comeback after a match that was all in England’s favor.
