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.
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.
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.’"
Usman Khawaja has every right to be pissed off right now - it was gonna be a draw anyway, let the poor man make 5 more runs #AUSvSA
— Leonardo Puglisi (@Leo_Puglisi6) January 7, 2023
That’s a terrible call
— Kristoff Darian Samm (@kristoffsamm) January 7, 2023
Lol the series is already won. Why on earth would you declare before Khawaja gets his double ton?😂 if you think you can bowl South Africa out in 2 days then I’m pretty sure 10-30 mins won’t make a massive difference anyways 😂 #AUSvSA
— Daan Human Stan Account (@GoTeamGoSports1) January 6, 2023
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Pat Cummins off the hook after Usman Khawaja makes 200
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.
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.
"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."
Khawaja missed out on a double hundred a couple of years ago when he ended day 2 on 195* and day 3 got washed out in Sydney vs South Africa. To force a result in a rain affected match, Cummins had to declare with Khawaja on 195*. So happy to see him get his maiden 200 at 38.
— TheRandomCricketPhotosGuy (@RandomCricketP1) January 30, 2025
7th Jan 2023 :Usman Khawaja remains unbeaten on 195 and falls 5 runs short of his maiden Test double 100 when Pat Cummins was forced to declare Aus 's 1st inns due to bad weather
30th Jan 2025 :38 year old Usman Khawaja scores his maiden Test double 100 in Galle#SLvsAUS pic.twitter.com/jzwL6PF0aa— Arnav Singh (@Arnavv43) January 30, 2025
#Khawaja FINALLY gets his double century—thank God Cummins wasn't there to declare before it happened!! 🤣 #AUSvSL https://t.co/dzOpPsAcGG
— 𝙸𝚗𝚍𝚛𝚊𝚗𝚒 𝙱. 🥥🌴🐈🐦🌿🚜🌻🇺🇦 (@TheOtherIndrani) January 30, 2025