Usman Khawaja’s day as he and Alex Carey lead Australia fightback
Australia 311 for five (Khawaja 126*, Carey 52*, Head 50) path England 393 for 8 declared by 82 runs
Usman Khawaja walked up the dressing-room stairs unbeaten for the second straight night at Edgbaston, 122 runs higher off than he had been the evening earlier than. England hoped 4 overs could be sufficient to dislodge Khawaja on Friday, declaring in time for a crack at him with the brand new ball; 24 hours later, he had proved himself immovable.
Khawaja was the almost man of Australian cricket for a lot of his profession, enjoying 93 instances for his nation earlier than his thirty fourth birthday with out ever feeling like a everlasting fixture within the aspect. His method and temperament had been referred to as into query, and after three years out of worldwide cricket, it appeared he had served his time.
But within the Birmingham sunshine, Khawaja reduce Ben Stokes for 4 and raced down the pitch to rejoice his seventh Test hundred since his recall 18 months in the past. Since the beginning of 2023, he has scored a whole lot in Australia, India and now, for the primary time in his profession, England.
On a sluggish, dry pitch, Khawaja and Australia scored at a special tempo to the one England had set on the primary day. They scored at barely two-thirds of the speed of England’s first innings, but with Khawaja’s innings – affected by crisp pulls and good-looking drives – ensured that they trailed by solely 82 at stumps.
It took Australia 24 balls so as to add to their in a single day 14 for 0, absorbing extra maidens within the first three overs of the day than England had executed of their complete first innings. Khawaja pulled and flicked Stuart Broad and James Anderson for boundaries – he pulled and flicked his manner by the day – but it surely was Broad who introduced the morning to life.
The first ball of his sixth over was a large inswinger dangled exterior off stump, however David Warner took the bait. He threw his palms on the ball, then his head again: his again leg collapsed as he formed to thump Broad by the covers, and a thick inside edge deflected the ball into the highest of his leg stump.
It was the fifteenth time that Broad had dismissed Warner, however he celebrated as if it was the primary, racing away in direction of the Hollies Stand together with his fists clenched so laborious that the veins in his neck throbbed. As Marnus Labuschagne requested a policeman to maneuver from his perch subsequent to the sightscreen, Broad sensed one thing was brewing.
Raising his hand and whirling his finger, he geed up the gang on the high of his mark. Coming from extensive on the crease, he angled an outswinger into him, and Labuschagne couldn’t resist driving away from his physique. Jonny Bairstow tumbled low to his proper, taking the catch one-handed, and Australia had been 29 for two.
The hat-trick ball flew harmlessly previous Steven Smith’s thigh pad as he shouldered arms with a flourish, and Smith dug in resolutely towards no matter Ben Stokes threw at him – together with an over of mild medium tempo from Harry Brook inside the primary hour. And so, Stokes took issues into his personal palms, bringing himself on for under his second over in a match since mid-February, and his first since early April.
His first supply was a front-foot no-ball, maybe striving to show his health regardless of a power knee concern, however the final ball of his second over skidded into Smith’s pad. Marais Erasmus finally gave Smith out after Stokes pleaded for the choice, and the DRS couldn’t save him: ball-tracking predicted the ball would have hit the highest of the stumps.
Travis Head joined Khawaja and counter-punched both aspect of lunch in attribute method. He survived a short-ball barrage after the interval and each left-handers took on Moeen Ali, who bowled in addition to might be hoped for a person who got here out of Test retirement final week. Moeen began to leak runs, however Stokes stubbornly refused to take him off, or to push the sector again.
Khawaja took 106 balls to succeed in his half-century, whereas Head acquired there in 60, chopping an out-of-sorts Ollie Robinson away behind sq.. He did not rating one other run, skipping down the pitch and miscuing Moeen to quick midwicket; Moeen pointed to Stokes at mid-off as he turned away in celebration.
Moeen ought to have had two wickets in three balls, beating Cameron Green as he charged out of his crease. Instead, an unsighted Bairstow missed the stumping probability and Green added 72 with Khawaja for the fifth wicket in a stand that spanned the tea interval.
The finest ball of the day accounted for Green on 38, as Moeen flighted an offbreak extensive exterior off. It drifted away a contact, then spun again sharply from an excellent size to beat Green – lunging forwards as if stepping on an insect – on the within edge and peg again his leg stump.
Yet England did not take one other wicket, Khawaja and Alex Carey including an unbroken 91 for the sixth wicket. Carey had a life on 26, prodding forwards to Joe Root just for Bairstow to place the possibility down, an edge previous Root at slip off Moeen introduced him to 50. Khawaja, too, loved a reprieve. Broad took the second new ball and located some nip off the seam to knock off stump again.
But the third umpire observed that Broad had overstepped, and he survived till the shut as soon as once more. The crowd had began to filter out by the point he walked off with a beaming smile, on the finish of a day that will likely be remembered as Usman Khawaja’s.
Matt Roller is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo. @mroller98