Usman Khawaja has established himself as the comeback king, scoring two hundreds in an Ashes Test to put Australia in a position to keep the whitewash alive – if they can capture 10 England wickets on the final day. England will be pleased that both of their openers made it through to the end of the day’s play, but they’ll have to put in a lot of effort tomorrow, with a scheduled 98 overs on the clock if the weather plays nice.
Usman Khawaja enters the record book with his ton
He hadn’t played since 2019, but when he did, he scored a century in both innings of a return Test. On a surface where most players have battled, Khawaja seemed a cut above the rest. Early on, he was patient as the uneven bounce of the pitch made scoring tough. As Jack Leach caused some issues with variable spin and bounce, Khawaja helped Green get through an anxious moment before tea. Khawaja is the prime example of Just staying in the moment and boldly going about his business, making the most of the occasion.
Khawaja & Green with their record-breaking partnership
Even though Australia had a comfortable 122-run lead, they were in a wee bit of trouble at 86/4 as England showed good discipline with the ball. After a difficult series, Jack Leach performed admirably today. However, Usman Khawaja and Cameron Green’s tremendous partnership ensured that there would be no collapse.
Cameron Green, who has been a prominent bowler in Test cricket, has now demonstrated his batting abilities on a global scale. With a day and a half to play, Australia went from a shaky position of 4 for 86 to a declaration where they could set England 388 to win. Cameron Green made his second-highest Test score of 74 and put on the highest partnership of the series with Khawaja, 179, to take Australia from a wobbly position of 4 for 86 to a declaration where they could set England 388 to win.
What day 5 holds for us
If Australia want to go 4-0 up in the series, they’ll need ten wickets on the final day. England has reacted with their best opening partnership of the series, despite their poor performances earlier, England will take it. It’ll be fascinating to see how England approaches the game tomorrow, whether defensively or offensively.