Usman Khawaja addresses burning question about future ahead of World Test Championship
Australian veteran opener Usman Khawaja is facing the very real possibility that the World Test Championship could be his last Test at Lord's, and possibly his final Test for Australia.
Australia are aiming for back-to-back World Test Championship titles when they face South Africa on Wednesday night (June 11, at 7.30pm AEST).
Know the news with the 7NEWS app: Download today
And the 38-year-old was keeping his cards close to his chest when asked directly by 7NEWS if he would be putting his whites and baggy green in mothballs after the match.
Khawaja took a long pause as he contemplated the retirement question.
'Ummmm .... I mean, potentially, you never know,' he said.
While the Test may be Khawaja's last, potentially it could also be a farewell match for some of his Aussie teammates.
It is for that reason the prospect of becoming back-to-back World Test champions is so high on the Australians' wish list.
'I think it'd be pretty cool (beating South Africa), especially winning it at Lord's ... and it could potentially be the last time you see this exact team in two years,' he said.
'It might not be (the end of of this line-up), but you never know.'
At the time of the interview, Khawaja was unclear if his opening partner would be fellow veterans Steve Smith (36) or Marnus Labuschagne (30).
And Khawaja said he didn't have a favourite.
'They're both as annoying as each other.'
After opening with Khawaja for Australia's two Tests in Sri Lanka, Travis Head will move back to No.5 against the Proteas.
Labuschagne is expected to move up from No.3 to open with Khawaja, with fit-again Cameron Green to bat in the top-three.
Aussie star speaks on new 'optional' ahead of WTC final
Star batter Travis Head has opened up on how Australia's different approach to training has helped set up an era of success.
Since 2021, Australia have collected three ICC trophies - the ODI and T20 World Cups, and the second edition of the WTC back in 2023.
Despite having limited time to prepare for the one-off Test with the Proteas — Australia's first red-ball match since February — Head is confident the XI will be ready to hit the ground running.
'Gone are the days of an optional session that wasn't optional,' Head said.
'It was optional if you wanted, but naughty if you didn't.
'So it was the optional 'yes' session.
'It was the optional 'must be there'.
'We're in a great environment now where we're backed to be able to prepare how we want, and come in at different drop points.'
Head has thrived since Andrew McDonald became head coach in 2022, taking over after Justin Langer's messy exit from the job following the 4-0 Ashes win in Australia.
The aggressive left-hander has become one of world cricket's best big game players.
He starred with a player-of-the-match performance when Australia defeated India in the 2023 WTC final at The Oval, smashing a game-changing 163.
Head proved it was no fluke only months later when he inspired Australia to a memorable upset of India at a hostile Ahmedabad in the 2023 ODI World Cup final.
'I feel like we've been in so many big games,' Head said.
'I have pride in the way I play, and I want to contribute every time I play.
'I put pressure on myself no matter, regardless of the situation or what kind of game I play in.
'So good things, bad things.
'I don't see it any bigger this week than what's to come.
'If you look at it through that lens, what's the worst that can happen?
'Playing a final at Lords, it's a cool thing to be involved in.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Perth Now
31 minutes ago
- Perth Now
Teen schoolgirl awestruck after winning unexpected Australian title
An emotional 16-year-old schoolgirl is being hailed as the future of Australian swimming after earning world championship selection. Sienna Toohey left seasoned campaigners including Kaylee McKeown and Cate Campbell in awe with a stunning swim at Australia's selection trials in Adelaide on Tuesday night. The Albury teen, who only started swimming because she wanted to play water polo, triumphed in the women's 100m breaststroke. Toohey's victory, in a personal best time of one minute 6.55 seconds, secured her berth at the world titles in Singapore from July 27 to August 3. 'All of these people being my idols, now I get to be on the team with them,' Toohey said. 'These are people that I was watching two years ago, saying I want to be like them.' The daughter of the relieving principal at Albury High School, Toohey initially wanted to be a water polo player. 'My parents told me that I couldn't do water polo if I didn't swim, so I started swimming,' she said. 'And then my water polo progressed and my swimming was too at the same time. I got to the point where I had to choose swimming or water polo. Obviously, I chose swimming — it was the right choice.' Cate Campbell comforts Sienna Toohey after the awesome feat. Credit: AAP Five-time Olympic gold medallist McKeown was among those impressed with Toohey's feat at the South Australian Aquatic Centre. 'I was 16 when I made my first team and it really taught me a lot being with the older guys,' McKeown said after winning the 100m backstroke final on Tuesday night. 'I'm excited to see young swimmers coming through the ranks. 'The more experience that they can get leading into LA (the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics), we have a really good chance of doing Australia proud.' McKeown, who has told of the mental toll during her decorated career, offered some advice to the precocious Toohey. 'Just to enjoy yourself,' McKeown said. 'The more you be serious, the more you're harsh on yourself, you keep just digging yourself in a bit of a hole and it's quite hard to get out of.' For Toohey, she now will revise plans which had centred on the goal of swimming at the 2032 Brisbane Olympics. 'The team I was first aiming to get on was definitely that one,' she said. 'Now that I've made this one, we'll have to push up the timeline a bit more.' Also on Tuesday night, Alex Perkins threatened the national women's 50m butterfly record by clocking 25.36 seconds, 0.05 shy of Holly Barratt's benchmark set six years ago. Injury-plagued Ed Sommerville, 20, made his first senior long-course national team by winning the men's 200m freestyle in 1:44.93 ahead of Sam Short (1:45.71). Joshua Edwards-Smith prevailed in the men's 100m backstroke in 54.28 and and Matt Temple took out the men's 100m butterfly in 51.00.
7NEWS
35 minutes ago
- 7NEWS
Hall of Fame inductee Erin Phillips brings famous father Greg to tears in emotional speech
Australian football Hall of Fame inductee Erin Phillips brought her famous father to tears during an emotional acceptance speech on Tuesday night. Phillips became just the second woman inducted into the Hall of Fame — followed closely on the night by Daisy Pearce who was third — and completed the first father-daughter combination, joining dad and Port Adelaide great, Greg Phillips. WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Erin Phillips delivers tear-jerking Hall of Fame speech. The two-time AFLW best and fairest, who won three premierships with Adelaide before crossing to Port Adelaide when they entered the competition, thanked her dad in a tear-jerking tribute. 'To Dad, I can't imagine how hard it would have been to tell your 13-year-old daughter that she couldn't play the game that she loves anymore,' she said, with emotion in her voice. 'And 27 years later, she's standing next to you in the Hall of Fame. 'Thank you for teaching me a game that I loved, and even though you knew it was never going to take me anywhere at the time, you still taught me anyway.' When she was turned away from footy, as all girls were at the time, Phillips turned to basketball, where she became one of Australia's greatest ever. She won two WNBA championships, a World Championship gold medal, and a WNBL championship, among a host of other accolades which already made her one of the country's most celebrated athletes, before her footy career even started. As it turned out, she was eventually able to chase her original footy dream when it became possible in 2017, for which she credited trailblazing women like Debbie Lee — the inaugural female inductee, four years ago — with making possible. 'You kicked down this door so others could walk through,' Phillips said. 'I'm so proud to be by your side and I can't wait to kick down more doors with you, Deb.' Phillips ended her stellar playing career at the end of 2022. The five-year player eligibility rule for the Hall of Fame was changed for women last year; AFLW players can now be inducted within a year of retirement and she was an obvious candidate. Her father, Port Adelaide great Greg, was inducted in 2020. Fos and Mark Williams, Hayden Bunton Sr and Jr, and umpires Jack McMurray Sr and Jr are the father-son inductees. Phillips was Adelaide's inaugural captain and the first women's best and fairest winner, playing in three Crows flags despite needing a knee reconstruction. She then switched to Port Adelaide when they joined the league in 2022. When the women's league started in 2017, marquee players such as Phillips were crucial for its profile and credibility. South Australian goalkicking machine Ken Farmer was elevated to legend status at Tuesday night's annual dinner in Melbourne. St Kilda great Nick Riewoldt, whose induction was delayed because of his family move to the United States, joined the Hall of Fame, along with four-time Hawthorn premiership hard nut Luke Hodge and former Melbourne captain Garry Lyon. South Adelaide ruckman Peter Darley, a key member of the club's most recent SANFL premiership in 1964, Tasmanian team of the century vice-captain John Leedham and seven-time East Perth premiership player George Owens are this year's historical inductees. Pearce's last AFLW game was the Melbourne 2022 grand final victory and she called it the best day of her life, even though her twin children Sylvie and Roy were in the room, hamming it up for the TV cameras. 'It's controversial to say this, as a mother ... don't get me wrong, they're the best thing that's ever happened to me, but on a technicality, the day itself is not that good,' she said. 'Give me grand final day every day of the week.' Pearce returned from having the twins in 2019 to captain Melbourne to the flag. Farmer, who died in 1982, is the SANFL's most prolific goalkicker, with 1417 for North Adelaide from 1929-41 in 224 games at an extraordinary average of 6.33 per game. He was never goalless in a game and coached the Roosters to two premierships. Riewolt went agonisingly close to a premiership, playing in St Kilda's draw and two losses across 2009-10. He said he had made his peace with not being able to help the Saints win their elusive second flag 'Rather than feeling like I walked away with the game still owing me something, I walk away feeling like the game gave me absolutely everything,' he said.
7NEWS
an hour ago
- 7NEWS
Nick Kyrgios loses high-profile Wimbledon commentary role after BBC ‘disgrace'
Nick Kyrgios appears set to miss Wimbledon entirely after it emerged he had been dropped by the BBC just days on from his latest injury setback. The 30-year-old has not played at the All England Club since losing the 2022 final to Novak Djokovic, having suffered a combination of knee, foot and wrist injuries. He had hoped to play doubles at the French Open but withdrew because of a knee injury and has since confirmed he would have to sit out the grass season. 'Just wanted to give everyone a quick update — l've hit a small setback in my recovery and unfortunately won't make it back for grass season this year,' Kyrgios wrote on Instagram. 'I know how much you've all been looking forward to seeing me out there, and I'm genuinely sorry to disappoint. 'This is just a bump in the road though, and I'm already working hard to get back stronger than ever. 'Thank you for all your continued support — it means everything to me. See you soon!' When Kyrgios missed Wimbledon through injury last year he picked up a commentary gig with the BBC alongside Australian tennis legend Ash Barty. But while Barty's return was greeted with much fanfare, it was a different story for Kyrgios as his 2021 court case involving former partner Chiara Passari returned to the spotlight. He was accused of pushing her to the ground but the case was dismissed by a magistrate. 'The BBC should hang its head in shame at this appointment,' Women and Equalities Committee chair Caroline Nokes said last year. 'It's a disgrace and shows the utter contempt our national broadcaster has towards women. 'Not content with consistently underpaying their own female staff and forcing out women once they hit a certain age, they now bring a man who admitted assaulting a woman on board for Wimbledon.' The BBC opted against taking action at the time but it has now been revealed Kyrgios will not return to the commentary team for 2025. The Australian's previously solid plans to appear in the tournament likely played a role in the split, though last year he was announced by the BBC before he had ruled himself out of playing. The BBC's decision not to re-sign Kyrgios comes just weeks after it was embroiled in controversy surrounding football legend Gary Lineker, who subsequently left his role as the public broadcaster's highest-paid presenter. Kyrgios has also not received a call-up to work for ESPN on its US coverage of Wimbledon, according to the Telegraph. He previously worked for the network at the Australian Open. Kyrgios has long seen the commentary booth as a career opportunity, with injuries over the past three years accelerating his path. He returned to the court in the Australian summer but still faces an uphill battle to resurrect his tennis career. The former world No.13 has played only four singles matches this year, claiming his first tour victory in two-and-a-half years at the Miami Open in March. His Wimbledon withdrawal means his first-round exit at this year's Australian Open will remain his only grand slam appearance — of a possible 11 — since the start of 2023. Last week, would-be French Open doubles partner Jordan Thompson gave an insight into how much Kyrgios had struggled with his luckless injury run. 'He was pretty down. He told me he doesn't know how much more of these injuries he can take, and you've just got to feel for him,' Thompson said. 'Because as much as he says things in the media, I think he loves playing tennis and he loves being on court, so it's disappointing that he can't be here on the court.'
