South Africa vs Australia: Usman Khawaja may open in first
Test, hints coach Darren Lehmann
Australia batsman
Usman Khawaja could find himself opening against South Africa's formidable pace
attack in the first Test in Perth on November 3, just months after being
dropped during a poor tour of Sri Lanka.
File photo of Usman
Khawaja. Reuters
Khawaja has played
most of his cricket at number three for Australia but could end up at the top
of the order for the Test at the WACA after Shaun Marsh suffered a hamstring
strain.
"I think you
can look at him (Khawaja) as a one, two or three," Australia coach Darren
Lehmann told reporters in Sydney on Wednesday. "It depends on the make-up
of the side.
"At the end of
the day the captain will decide where the batting order lies and we’ll just
give him the side we think is the best prepared and the best team to win that
particular game."
At three, Khawaja
enjoyed a prolific home summer against New Zealand and West Indies, smashing a
century in three Tests and adding a fourth ton on tour in New Zealand in
February.
The stylish
left-hander's form deserted him on the flat wickets in Sri Lanka, however,
where he managed only 55 runs from four innings before being omitted for the
third Test in Colombo in August.
Khawaja will hope
for a good knock captaining Queensland in the final of a local one-day
tournament on Sunday, having had little time out in the middle recently.
He scored an
unbeaten 82 in a one-dayer against Ireland in South Africa but was unused in
the ODI series against the hosts, who swept an under-strength Australia 5-0.
"I felt like I
was seeing the ball well all throughout South Africa and still feel like I'm
seeing the ball well," he said.
"Even in Sri
Lanka where I didn't score a lot of runs, I didn't feel horrible."
He will have only a
day's break before leading Queensland in the domestic Sheffield Shield, the
only chance to get re-acquainted with the longer format before the Perth Test.
Khawaja questioned
the scheduling of the South Africa one-day tour right before the Australian
domestic summer, which will see a number of Test players scramble to compete in
four different tournaments in just over three weeks.
"I found it
really bizarre that we played that one-day series before a big Test
series," he said.
"That's how international
cricket is going these days. There is no break."