Ussie and Bull
Randwick Petersham Cricket Club | January 01, 2024
An extract from Randwick Petersham Cricket Club 2021-22 Annual Report
What a great thrill for Randwick Petersham Cricket and its many followers, to see two of its favourite sons opening the batting in Test Match cricket for Australia! When David “Bull” Warner and Usman “Ussie” Khawaja walked together to the centre of the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, it was history in the making. The occasion was the 1st Test between Australia and Pakistan–the first in that country for 20 years. And they supported their selection at the top of the order with a partnership of 156 for the first wicket. David scored 68 while Ussie went on to make 97, before being caught at short leg.
The pair also opened the batting in the remaining two Tests, putting on 82 and 20 in the 2nd in Karachi and 8 and 96 in the 3rd at Lahore, which Australia won in spectacular fashion, taking 10 wickets on the final day. And while David didn’t have a great series, making just 169 in his five innings, Usman was just the opposite, scoring a massive 496 at an average of 165.33 for each of three completed innings. He was named Player of the Series.
And while it was an outstanding summer for Ussie, one of his real disappointments was being dismissed for 97. He was devastated to miss out on scoring a century in his first Test Match in his country of birth. It was his third 97 in Test cricket and the second against Pakistan. He has however, made a century against Pakistan, hitting 141 in the second innings in Dubai in 2018.
But the determined Khawaja made amends in the 2nd Test at Karachi with a classic 160 from 369 balls. That performance had special significance for the 35 year old, as he spent his early childhood in Karachi before migrating to Australia when he was five.
Ussie carried his form into the deciding Test at Lahore and set-up the side for victory with an undefeated 104 off 178 balls in the second innings. It was his fourth century in five matches since his “comeback” in the Sydney New Year Test, 75 days earlier. If there was a disappointment in the match, it was that he was again dismissed in the 90s, making 91 in the first innings before being brilliantly caught at first slip while attempting a leg-side shot.
Born just 52 days apart, playing cricket together was not an unusual activity for David Warner and Usman Khawaja, as they first teamed up as seven-year olds with Sydney Coastal and South Eastern Juniors, progressing to under 16s junior representative matches. And while they became two of the most dynamic left-hand bats in world cricket, the amazing thing at that time was that they were the opening bowlers! And right-handers as well! It was a spectacular transformation by each of them.
Opening the batting in the 1st Pakistan Test match, was not however, the first time they had performed that task for Australia. That occasion was in a One-Day International against New Zealand in Wellington in February 2016. The pair put on 122 in 16 overs for the first wicket, enabling Australia to chase down a target of 281 in 46.3 overs. Warner made 98 and Ussie 50.
The first time they joined forces against the new ball in Test cricket was in the 3rd Test, ironically against Pakistan, in Sydney in 2017. They put on 71 that day to get the side away to an eventual victory. But despite that solid start, it would be five years before they would be re-united at the top of the order in a Test Match.
Most of their time together in Test cricket saw Khawaja batting at first drop or further down the list, while Warner was a regular opener. The 156 at Rawalpindi was also not the first time the pair had put together a century partnership. Their best was 302 for the second wicket playing New Zealand in Perth in 2015, a match where David made a huge 253 and Ussie 121. The match before in Perth, saw them knock up 150 for the second wicket with Khawaja ending up 174 and Warner 163. And in the 2016 Boxing Day Test against Pakistan, Warner scored 144 and Ussie 97 when they totalled 198, again for the second wicket.
The Ashes
The highlight of the summer was the Aussies 4-0 win over England in the Ashes Series. It was a dominating performance by Australia who outplayed England in every facet of the game. David Warner played in all five Tests scoring 273 runs although a century eluded him, making 94 in the 1st Test in Brisbane and 95 in the 2nd at Adelaide, which took him past David Boon’ record of 7,422 runs and into the top 10 all-time Test run-scorers for Australia. Unfortunately, in the 5th historic day-night Test in Hobart, he made a “pair”, for only the second time in 91 matches. His first was in the Ashes Series at Manchester in 2019.
The series was also a triumph for Usman Khawaja who was selected in the Test squad from the start, but didn’t get a call-up until the 4th Test in Sydney after Travis Head, the player of the series, was ruled out after testing positive to COVID-19. It’s now history how Ussie seized his opportunity with both hands at a venue where he made his Test debut 11 years earlier. He became just the sixth Australian to score a century in each innings of an Ashes Test, when he made 101* off 122 balls with 10 fours and two sixes in the second innings, after scoring 137 off 260 with 13 fours in the first.
With his second hundred, he joined two elite groups. He became the third Australian after Doug Walters and Ricky Ponting, to score hundreds in both innings of a Test at the SCG. He is also only the sixth Australian to perform the same feat in an Ashes Test, following in the footsteps of Warren Bardsley, Arthur Morris, Steve Waugh, Matthew Hayden and Steve Smith. When he got to 113 in the first innings, he also brought up 3,000 runs in Test Cricket.
David Warner and Usman Khawaja have had outstanding careers playing cricket for Australia. David has played 94 Test matches scoring 7,753 runs at an average of 46.98 with 24 centuries and a top score of 335* against Pakistan in Adelaide in 2019. He played 128 ODIs scoring 5,455 at 45.45 with 18 centuries and a top score of 179 against Pakistan in Adelaide in 2017. In Twenty20 cricket, he has knocked up 2,554 runs in 88 matches at 32.74 with one century of 100* against Sri Lanka in Adelaide in 2019. Across all three forms, he has held 177 catches.
Usman has played 49 Tests scoring 3,638 runs at an average of 47.24 with 12 centuries and a top score of 174 against New Zealand in Brisbane in 2015. He has played 40 ODIs scoring 1,554 runs at 42.00 with two centuries and a top score of 104 against India at Ranchi in 2019. In Twenty20 cricket he has played nine matches for 241 at 26.77 with top score of 58 playing Bangladesh in Bengaluru in 2015. Across all three forms, he has held 57 catches.
The 2021 Twenty20 World Cup
The 2020 Twenty20 World Cup was originally scheduled for Australia in October-November, but with the closed-border policy of the Government, it was played a year later in the United Arab Emirates. In the preliminary matches, Australia won four of the five rounds, losing only to England.
Australia then defeated Pakistan in the semi-final setting up a Final clash with New Zealand.
In the Final, David Warner gave his side a flying start with 53 off 38 balls with 3 sixes enabling Mitch Marsh to close out the game with 77 off 50 with 4 sixes, enabling Australia to win the Cup and take home the US$ 1.6M first prize. Warner was second top-scorer in the tournament with 289 runs which included 32 fours and 10 sixes. Pakistan skipper Babar Azam was the leading run-getter with 303. However, Warner was named as opening bat in the Team of the Tournament while also taking out the prized trophy as Player of the Tournament.
