Questions also need to be asked about Khawaja's position in the team.
Today is Khawaja's 38th birthday. So far he's only scored 55 runs in this series, at an average of just 13.75 (with 1 no). In the last 12 months he's scored just 371 runs, at an average of 24.73 - that average puts him behind Green, Head, Carey, Warner, Smith, Marsh, and Labuschagne during this period. McSweeney is the only specialist batsman with a lower average during this period, and McSweeney is just getting his career started.
It's not that long ago that Khawaja was our highest scoring batsman - he scored 1210 runs in 2023, 281 more than the next best Australian batsman (Smith). He also topped our run scoring in 2022, with 1080 runs (to Labuschagne's 957).
However, time waits for no man. We've all seen the deterioration in Smith's batting and slips catching, as his vision, reflexes and hand/eye coordination slowly desert him. Khawaja's fall from form has been even more dramatic, yet his low profile position in the team means it's rarely been discussed.
Today is Khawaja's 38th birthday. So far he's only scored 55 runs in this series, at an average of just 13.75 (with 1 no). In the last 12 months he's scored just 371 runs, at an average of 24.73 - that average puts him behind Green, Head, Carey, Warner, Smith, Marsh, and Labuschagne during this period. McSweeney is the only specialist batsman with a lower average during this period, and McSweeney is just getting his career started.
It's not that long ago that Khawaja was our highest scoring batsman - he scored 1210 runs in 2023, 281 more than the next best Australian batsman (Smith). He also topped our run scoring in 2022, with 1080 runs (to Labuschagne's 957).
However, time waits for no man. We've all seen the deterioration in Smith's batting and slips catching, as his vision, reflexes and hand/eye coordination slowly desert him. Khawaja's fall from form has been even more dramatic, yet his low profile position in the team means it's rarely been discussed.
