He has scored 84 runs in the last five innings.
Australia opening batter Usman Khawaja continued his poor run of form after he fell for just 16 in the first innings of the second Test against West Indies in St George’s. Pressure is mounting on him with the hopes for the Ashes later this year looking grim.
Khawaja made 47 runs in the first innings in the Bridgetown Test but has a combined tally of 37 runs in the other four innings in the last three Tests. In the recent World Test Championship (WTC) final against South Africa, he was dismissed for a duck and six.
AUSA-W
–
INDA-W
–
AMR
140/3
SVL
139/9
Amaravati Royals beat Simhadri Vizag Lions by 7 wickets
TBW
–
KNK
22/3
SVL
–
BVB
–
ROR
–
KNK
–
SIN-W
171/4
CAM-W
69/7
Singapore Womens beat Cambodia Women by 102 runs
SIN-W
33/2
CAM-W
32/8
Singapore Womens beat Cambodia Women by 8 wickets
ABF
–
BR
–
SKA
–
TKR
–
ABF
–
SLK
–
WDL
61/2
NDT
138/8
West Delhi Lions beat New Delhi Tigers by 15 runs (D/L) method
CDK
–
NDS
–
SDS
–
PD
–
SDSW
–
NDSW
–
SWE
200/5
HUN
198/2
Sweden beat Hungary by 5 wickets
HUN
128/5
NOR
129/1
Norway beat Hungary by 9 wickets
NOR
149/8
SWE
150/8
Sweden beat Norway by 2 wickets
HUN
–
SWE
–
NOR
–
SWE
–
SWE
–
HUN
–
NOR
–
HUN
–
JZ-W
80/5
LL-W
79/3
Jinx Zagreb Women beat Lavender Lionesses Women by 5 wickets
JZ-W
104/5
LL-W
82/4
Jinx Zagreb Women beat Lavender Lionesses Women by 22 runs
JZ-W
87/1
LL-W
86/3
Jinx Zagreb Women beat Lavender Lionesses Women by 9 wickets
JZ-W
–
LL-W
3/1
JZ-W
–
LL-W
–
JZ-W
–
LL-W
–
JZ-W
–
LL-W
–
KENT
–
LAN
–
MID
–
YOR
–
SOM
–
BB
–
NOR
–
SUSS
–
LEI
–
ESS
–
GLAM
–
NOT
–
WOR
–
GLO
–
BAN
–
IND
–
Match Called off
SBSCC
–
RTZ
–
KZK
–
PCR
–
KRMPS
–
NCMI
–
TCC
–
CEC-A
–
SML
127/5
GBM
–
MYW
–
HBT
–
MGD
–
BNB
–
MYW
–
SML
–
MAT
172/6
MUT
173/0
Muscat Thunderers beat Majees Titans by 10 wickets
IAI
90/4
ROS
191/6
RNC
–
YSG
–
IAI
–
MAT
–
ROS
–
MUT
–
SLGR
189/4
SLGY
166/8
SLC Greens beat SLC Greys by 23 runs
AUS
173/8
SA
172/7
Australia beat South Africa by 2 wickets
TRR
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SOB
–
OVI
–
WEF
–
MAO
–
NOS
–
BIP
–
LOS
–
TRW-W
106/10
SBW-W
109/4
Southern Brave Women beat Trent Rockets Women by 6 wickets
OIW-W
136/5
WFW-W
–
MOW-W
–
NOS-W
–
BIP-W
–
LSW-W
–
MR-A
107/1
ACOM
106/9
Melbourne Renegades Academy beat Australian Capital Territory by 9 wickets
MS-A
231/4
HHA
227/3
Melbourne Stars Academy beat Hobart Hurricanes Academy by 6 wickets
PS
111/10
PSA
114/8
Perth Scorchers Academy beat Pakistan Shaheens by 2 wickets
BANA
186/6
NEP
154/7
Bangladesh A beat Nepal by 32 runs
CHK
–
AS-A
–
NTS
–
HHA
–
PSA
–
BANA
–
MEMA
–
KASS
–
There seems to be a pattern with Khawaja’s dismissals in Test cricket in recent times. Right-arm seamers bowling around the wicket have troubled him and it is becoming a major weakness in his game.
Since the start of 2024, Khawaja averages just 18.7 against right-arm pacers coming around the wicket. The number reads 43.6 from over the wicket. Opponents have exploited this weakness with all of his previous five dismissals coming from this angle.
The show starts in the Spice Isle!🇬🇩
— Windies Cricket (@windiescricket) July 3, 2025
Alzarri gets rid of the opener, Khawaja!#WIvAUS | #FullAhEnergy pic.twitter.com/N1BJFrhQwz
On Thursday, Alzarri Joseph trapped him with a delivery moving in. This was an action replay of his dismissal from the second innings in Bridgetown, against the same bowler. In the WTC final, Kagiso Rabada removed him in both innings with good length deliveries pitching outside off and nipping away slightly.
Speaking on the commentary, former West Indies player Carlos Brathwaite called it an “obvious weakness” for Khawaja. Samuel Badree, former West Indies spinner, agreed to this assessment.
“The moment Khawaja comes out to bat, they’re immediately around the wicket to him because the data suggests he struggles from that angle,” Badree said.
The recent run of form and the glaring weakness has meant that Usman Khawaja has been under scrutiny for a while. Unless he turns things around, his place in the Australian side for the Ashes could be in jeopardy.
Since the start of 2024, the left-hand batter has scored 837 runs across 15 Tests at an average of 33.48. If we remove his double century in Galle on the Sri Lankan tour, that average comes down to just 24.
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Australia recently dropped Marnus Labuschagne from their playing XI owing to his dismal returns in the last couple of years. Khawaja is 38 years old and might not get a long rope.
After this West Indies series, Australia’s next Test assignment is scheduled to be the Ashes at home in November. If Khawaja doesn’t perform in the second innings of this ongoing Test, it could well be the final innings of his international career.
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