Aussie batter Khawaja fit for third Ashes Test, unfazed by talk of future plans

Australia’s Usman Khawaja has declared himself fit for the third Ashes Test against England next week, brushing aside speculation about his future and saying he will keep playing as long as he is valued by the team.

The left-handed batter, who will turn 39 during the Adelaide test which starts on Wednesday, missed the pink-ball encounter against England due to a back problem, and was also unable to open in either of the innings in Perth last month.

“I could have retired two years ago, or at any time,” Khawaja told reporters in Adelaide on Saturday.

“I am always mindful of the future, I always have been. I am not here to hang on, I am just here to enjoy my cricket.

“As long as I am valued I am here, I am doing my job.”

In Khawaja’s absence, Travis Head and Jake Weatherald have been in fine form at the top of the order.

Head scored a match-winning 123 in Perth, while Weatherald contributed with a solid 72-run knock in the second test.

“I’ve got to be totally honest, it doesn’t really faze me,” Khawaja said on the chances of his return to the playing XI.

“The older I have got, the more comfortable I have got with things that I can control and things that I cannot.

“And I feel really good. I am ready to go.

“The rest of it is not in my control. So we will see what happens.”

Australia lead the five-match series 2-0 and a win in Adelaide would secure the urn.

Meanwhile, Australia quick Josh Hazlewood intends to continue playing international cricket in all formats despite missing the entire Ashes series because of injury.

At 34, Hazlewood was one of a half dozen Australia players who were considered to be approaching the twilight, and maybe the end, of their test careers during the Ashes series.

Hazlewood’s involvement ended up being stymied by a hamstring injury on the eve of the series, compounded by an Achilles problem as he returned to bowling with the squad.

Despite missing out on the series, Hazlewood said he was determined to continue to represent his country with both red ball and white.

“Yeah absolutely,” he told Sydney’s Daily Telegraph. “My body still feels as strong as ever. It’s just little things here and there that creep in. I’m still determined to play three formats as best I can.

“You’re still going to miss the odd game here and there, no one can do it all, unless you’re a batter, but I still enjoy all the different demands of the three formats.

“It keeps it fresh getting ready and preparing for each different format.”

Having been ruled out of the last three Ashes tests, Hazlewood will now turn his focus to getting fully match fit for Australia’s Twenty20 World Cup campaign in India and Sri Lanka early next year.

“Once you’re injured mid-series or just before a series starts, you’re chasing your tail a lot of the time anyway,” he added.

“I probably could have got back for one or two tests with the hamstring, but then you leave yourself quite vulnerable going into a test match on the back of not much.

“Every day you’re not bowling is another day you’ve got to bowl to get back to where you were.

“Obviously things are easier when you’re up and going and you’ve got some good work under you.”

Agencies