Usman Khawaja, an opener, feels that since opening is such a difficult task, a specialist should take over once David Warner concludes his Test career, rather than pushing Marnus Labuschagne or anybody else up to the position.
When Warner’s Test career expires later this summer, perhaps after the third Test against Pakistan in Sydney in the new year, Khawaja was asked about the idea of moving Labuschagne up to open the batting. Australia coach Andrew McDonald suggested the move last week in an attempt to get all-around player Cameron Green back into the lineup to partner with starting all-rounder Mitchell Marsh.
Given Labuschagne’s success in that position, Khawaja was emphatic that he should stay at No. 3, adding that he was cautious about playing around with the order because starting the batting is so difficult.
Have you asked this to Marnus? Khawaja stated, “I believe he would give you a really clear, ‘hell no’.” Mars suffers from opening-itis. Davey Warner hurt his arm, I believe, so he sent Alex Carey out to open. That seems like a long shot to me.
“It’s not easy to open. It’s demanding labor. I have batted for Australia at [No.]1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6, so I can tell you that. Opening is the hardest, I promise you, and it’s really difficult to bring someone who hasn’t opened.
“I’m sure Marnus would perform admirably if you started him there at the beginning. Would he perform as well as No. 3 as an opener, though? I’m not certain.
“Considering that Steve Smith typically averages 60 [58.61] and he’s averaging 55 [56.81] at three, I wouldn’t want to take the chance. Thus, you wouldn’t want to tamper with it much.
“Opening can be a very, very tough thing to do mentally more than physically so I’m always a bit shy of not letting people who haven’t opened much in the past open the batting.”
He also dismissed the idea that Travis Head would move up to open all the time after being deployed as a stand-in opener during the Test series in India earlier this year due to Warner’s injury.
Khawaja remarked, “He’s done so well at No. 5.” “Shifting people around is pointless. There are a ton of openers available. There seems to be no purpose in switching around players just for fun. That is, I believe, the reason that Mitch Marsh and Cameron Green are in the conversation. However, I believe they are vying for the same position. Decide who is the superior player for that particular game at that moment, then worry about the other players.”
Khawaja’s statement contradicts his move from being a No. 3 in Test cricket to an opener. Before making a century in his first innings opening in Test cricket, Khawaja did not open the batting in his first 31 Test innings over the course of five years at the beginning of his career. This was because David Warner was unable to open in a day-night Test against South Africa in 2016 due to being off the field for an extended period of time.
Before that century, Khawaja had opened 15 times in first-class cricket but had never topped 50 in an innings. He has since developed into one of the most productive openers in the annals of Test match cricket. He gained further experience in first-class cricket when he opened for Australia A during a tour of India in 2018. This helped him succeed as an opener in the UAE as a Test opener in 2018, and he later replaced Marcus Harris at the end of the 2021–22 Ashes series after hitting twin hundreds at No. 5 in the Sydney Test.
Khawaja and Herbert Sutcliffe are the only players to average above 60 at the top of the order out of the 202 players who have opened more than 25 times in Test cricket.
Another irony is that Khawaja bats at No. 4 in the Sheffield Shield for his state team Queensland, allowing Matt Renshaw, who is one of the openers fighting for the soon-to-be-vacant Test berth, to open the batting. Instead, Bryce Street and former Test opener Joe Burns opened with Renshaw, while Khawaja batting at No. 4.
Although Khawaja is not a specialist himself, he thinks that once Warner finishes, one of the three specialist openers—Renshaw, Harris, and Cameron Bancroft—should be selected to open the Test team.
He stated that although he has an opinion about which of the three players is the best, he would not share it and the Australian selectors have not asked him to name his dream potential partner.
In any case, even if they inquired, it wouldn’t matter. Khawaja advised them to select the candidate they believe to be the finest.
“To be honest, I don’t want to talk about it. I believe a lot of factors are involved. I don’t have access to watch all of these players bat. To be honest, it probably doesn’t matter even if I did believe one was superior to the other because the differences are so tiny. All three of the players who are vying to lead off the batting deserve it, in my opinion. I find it quite simple to just step back and tell them to choose anybody they want.”
