Pat Cummins finally off the hook for controversial call to deny Usman Khawaja double century

The veteran Aussie finally broke through for his first double ton in Test cricket.

Usman Khawaja must have thought he'd never make a double century in Test cricket - especially after he was left stranded on 195 not out by a controversial call from Pat Cummins two years ago. Khawaja cracked a magnificent 232 in the first Test against Sri Lanka on Thursday, with Steve Smith (141) and Josh Inglis (102) also making centuries.

But the hero was Khawaja, whose first double century in Test cricket led the Aussies to their highest-ever total in the subcontinent (6d-654). Khawaja had made four previous scores of 150-plus, but never managed to crack the magical 200.

Usman Khawaja and Pat Cummins.
Usman Khawaja finally made a Test double century after Pat Cummins' call that denied him in 2023. Image: Getty

The closest he came before Thursday was the 195 not out he made at the SCG against South Africa in 2023, when Cummins was forced to make a brutal call and deny him a double century. With the better part of two days washed out due to rain in Sydney, Cummins was forced to declare Australia's first innings on day four and hope to bowl South Africa out twice to win the Test.

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Khawaja had been on 195 not out before the fourth day's play, but when more rain washed out the morning session Cummins pulled the pin and declared. Khawaja later revealed he gave Cummins his blessing to declare because he had to put the team before individual accolades.

But Cummins still copped plenty of backlash for the decision, particularly after Australia fell eight wickets short of victory anyway. Many felt there was no chance the Aussies could win with such little time remaining, and Cummins should have let Khawaja keep batting to reach 200.

Khawaja said at the time: “I knew obviously Patty wanted to bowl at some stage … before he even came up to me and talked to me, I could sort of read the sign. I honestly just went up to him and went: ‘Patty, whatever you need to do to win this Test match, just do it. I love playing for Australia and you know if I‘m not playing this game to win this game, it’d be wrong for me to ask to go out there for two or three overs and just do what you feel is right.’"

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But fast-forward two years and Cummins is finally off the hook. Khawaja's 232 on Thursday means he's finally made a double century and won't die wondering what might have been if his highest Test score remained 195 not out.

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The 38-year-old's knock was the perfect response to his critics after a lean summer with the bat, which saw him victimised by Jasprit Bumrah. Former Test captain Michael Clarke even declared that Khawaja should retire at the SCG after the fifth Test against India to usher in some younger players.

Usman Khawaja, pictured here celebrating with Josh Inglis after reaching 200 against Sri Lanka.
Usman Khawaja celebrates with Josh Inglis after reaching 200 against Sri Lanka. (Photo by Buddhika Weerasinghe/Getty Images)

"I'm not here for anyone but the team," Khawaja said on Wednesday. "(Australia coach) Andrew McDonald, one thing last year he said to me, 'I don't care what happens, just make sure you're on the Sri Lankan tour'. I'm not just playing cricket because I've got a gluttony to score lots of runs. Sixteen, seventeen, eighteen hundreds is not going to make a difference to my life.

“It’s been a tough summer, and I think I finished the summer off really well (with a match-winning 41), but had a lot of people telling me how I should go by my career and what I should do from here on in. When I finish this game, I've got beautiful kids and a family. I'm pretty chill with everything, but it's nice to get 100 after the summer because it was a tough time."