Usman Khawaja has been left upset by suggestions from Queensland Cricket boss Joe Dawes that the state had no idea of his injury issues and that he didn’t want to play in the state’s last Sheffield Shield game.
QC officials were left scrambling on Wednesday by Dawes’ remarks, which stunned Khawaja and the state association ahead of the final against South Australia in Adelaide next week.
Usman Khawaja and wife Rachel at the Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix on Sunday.Credit: Instagram
Khawaja’s availability for the final is now unclear following hamstring and ankle issues that kept him out of the game against SA that enabled their qualification for the final.
An upset Khawaja was not prepared to comment when contacted by this masthead.
QC also declined to comment, pointing to the likely announcement of the squad for the Shield final on Friday ahead of the first day’s play on March 26 at Karen Rolton Oval.
Earlier on Wednesday, Dawes had declared that QC were not aware of Khawaja’s hamstring and ankle problems, and that it had thus been “disappointing” that he did not want to play in the final game of the regular season.
“Our medical staff said all the way through he has been available for selection,” Dawes had said.
“That is my understanding from Cricket Australia staff as well – no hamstring issues as far as we are concerned.
“I go off our medical staff and there is no reason why he could not have played the last game. It’s just disappointing he didn’t play a game for Queensland when he had an opportunity to. I have got a bunch of blokes here that all want to play.
“I think we are disappointed he did not play the game against South Australia. That’s the decision he made, and he has communicated some of the reasons for that in the public. Hopefully he will make that decision to make himself available for next week and we will make that decision on Friday.”
Usman Khawaja was a shining light for Australia with the bat in Sri Lanka last month.Credit: Getty Images
According to two sources familiar with plans, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, Khawaja had initially been unlikely to play any Shield games for Queensland after his return from the tour of Sri Lanka.
By that point Khawaja, 38, had already played 10 first-class matches for the summer, and was nursing an ankle impingement that flared in Galle.
Numerous fellow members of the Test team, including Nathan Lyon, Steve Smith, Travis Head and Pat Cummins, have not been sighted in Shield cricket since the Sri Lanka tour, due to a combination of workload and injury management.
Australian cricket icon Ian Healy.Credit: Getty Images
However when Queensland needed to win in Hobart against Tasmania to remain in the race for the Shield final, Khawaja chose to play. He suffered a minor hamstring strain in training on match eve, and after consultation with the team physio was cleared to play, even though he could not run at 100 per cent pace.
Khawaja then made a century for the Bulls, but finished the game with greater soreness than he had begun with, resulting in his decision not to play in the final Shield round.
Accompanied by his wife Rachel, Khawaja then attended the Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix at Albert Park in Melbourne, as did Nathan Lyon.
Khawaja’s appearance at the F1 angered Queensland Cricket board director Ian Healy, a former state teammate of Dawes, who pointed the finger at Cricket Australia for its management of players.
“The board should be aghast that Usman Khawaja has chosen not to play the last round of the Sheffield Shield competition to get his state into the final,” Healy said on SEN Radio. “To Cricket Australia – your contracted player doesn’t play your long-standing competition. Our cricket needs to be built on integrity, skill and ‘ticker’, not absence.”
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