Australian opener Usman Khawaja is in danger of missing the second Test against the West Indies after copping a sickening head knock at Adelaide Oval on Friday morning.
With the hosts needing one run for victory, the Queenslander copped a nasty blow to the jaw after ducking into a bouncer from West Indies debutant Shamar Joseph on day three of the series opener. He was in immediate discomfort, removing his helmet and feeling his upper jaw before spitting blood onto the turf.
The 37-year-old retired hurt for 9 after consulting a team medic on the field, leaving teammate Marnus Labuschagne to hit the winning runs a couple of deliveries later. Khawaja passed a concussion test after the match, but was still sent for precautionary scans on his jaw.
“He seemed okay, just a little bit of a sore jaw,” Australian captain Pat Cummins said of Khawaja.
“We’ll monitor it, but he seemed okay.”
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Under Cricket Australia guidelines, if a player is diagnosed with concussion, they are automatically ruled out of any match for seven days, which would prevent Khawaja from playing the second Test in Brisbane.
“Unfortunate, he bit his tongue as well,” West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite said
“Let’s hope he’s okay, no one wants to see a guy get injured playing this game that we love.”
If Khawaja doesn’t recover before the series finale at the Gabba, which gets underway on Thursday, it would open the door for Matthew Renshaw to return to the Test side.
Renshaw, who will represent the Brisbane Heat in Friday evening’s Big Bash League Qualifier against the Sydney Sixers on the Gold Coast, was named as the reserve batter for Australia’s Test squad ahead of the Frank Worrell Trophy. The 27-year-old was released from the squad to play the Big Bash finals match, but he is expected to rejoin the Australians on Saturday.
Speaking to reporters last week, chief selector George Bailey confirmed that Renshaw was leading the race to become Australia’s next Test opener.
“Ultimately we are trying to pick our best six batters. At the moment as it stands, we see Matthew Renshaw as the next best,” Bailey explained.
“That’s not to put an end date on any of those two players, I think Usman has publicly spoken about that he hasn’t put a finish date on his career. As long as he’s playing well and enjoying it he wants to keep playing for as long as he can.”
The second Test between Australia and West Indies gets underway at the Gabba on Thursday, with the first ball scheduled for 3pm AEDT.
