Usman Khawaja did not open the innings for Australia.
Fans might be wondering why Travis Head has opened with Jake Weatherald in the third innings of the Ashes 2025 1st Test, instead of their veteran opener Usman Khawaja.
The 38-year-old spent a long time off the field due to discomfort and receiving treatment. Hence, Khawaja will now have to wait for the same time period on the sidelines before entering the ground.
The same incident also took place on the opening day of the Ashes 2025 1st Test, as Marnus Labuschagne opened the innings with the debutant Weatherald. Both the openers could not take the advantage of a poor first innings total by the visitors, as they were dismissed for nine runs and a duck, respectively.
Khawaja, who was carrying on a consistent form in the Sheffield Shield 2025-26, also failed to stabilise Australia’s innings. Coming in at No.4, he managed only two runs before edging a Brydon Carse delivery.
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According to the ICC rule, Khawaja will be eligible to enter the batting line-up after spending a similar amount of time in the dugout. But the current question is whether he will be physically fit to come out to bat. The previous day’s break from the on-field action was also taken as the batter felt some stiffness in his back.
Notably, skipper Pat Cummins, who missed the Ashes 2025 1st Test in Perth, has recently revealed that Khawaja is yet to fully recover from his persistent back issue.
“Unfortunately, Uzzie [Khawaja] is not moving too well. His back flared up again in the slips, going for a jump above his head, so he is unable to open. Hopefully Uzzie can still play a role in the middle order at some point,” stated Cummins to Fox Cricket.
However, the Cricket Australia (CA) chief executive, Todd Greenberg, had previously dismissed Khawaja’s golf sessions ahead of the Ashes 2025 opening day as being the reason behind his back spasms.
“It has held him in good stead over the last couple of years. It’s not uncommon for a lot of them to play golf a day prior. Did that correlate to any of the issues? I personally don’t think so. Usman’s a very seasoned campaigner, he knows his body well, and he knows how to get himself prepared for cricket,” noted Greenberg.
At the time of writing, the hosts are at 111/1 after 18 overs with Head (73) and Labuschagne (12) at the crease. They need 94 runs more to go 1-0 up in the marquee five-Test series.
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