June 17th 2023.
Jason Gillespie thought Usman Khawaja was 'done' at the top level, but he was delightfully proven wrong by the Australia opener's resurgence at Edgbaston. On the second day of the first Ashes Test, Khawaja scored an unbeaten 126, rescuing Australia from 29-2 to 311-5 by the end of stumps.
Khawaja's hundred came in a masterful display of patience and class, and it was his 15th overall and first in England. Since his recall for the last Ashes series, Khawaja has outperformed all his Australian teammates. Gillespie, who was coaching South Australia, recalled saying Khawaja was 'past it', and was surprised by his resurgence.
In the build-up to the Ashes, Khawaja was talked about less than any other Australian batsman, but his performance has proved he is a very fine player. Gillespie praised his resilience, which was on full display against some good bowling. Khawaja found valuable support from Cameron Green (38), Travis Head (50) and Alex Carey (52*).
Australia are in a good position to take the first innings lead, being 82 runs behind with five wickets left. Stuart Broad was confident that England were in a 'really positive place', and that they are one or two wickets away from the tail. The game is nicely poised.
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