Usman Khawaja laments difficult English conditions ahead of Ashes

The 36-year-old is in fine form at the top of the order for Australia, having amassed a seriously impressive 1608 Test runs since January 2022 at a healthy average of 69.91.

But Khawaja is under no illusions as to the unique challenges offered by the England pitches, especially at the top order.

"England is, in my opinion, the toughest place in the world to bat for a top three batsman, plain and simple," the left-hander told <em>cricket.com.au.</em>

"New ball is tough work, but then you get some [weather] conditions, and it's a bit of luck involved in it, too; sometimes you get the other team out, then suddenly the clouds roll over ... other times you're out there and it's nice and sunny.

"If I've learned anything, it's work hard, train hard, [and] if you're going to England, go with low expectations, and then just work on every game one at a time, because you are going to fail as a batsman. But when you do score, you try to cash in as much as you can."

Khawaja is speaking from personal experience. The Pakistan-born batter has featured on two Ashes tours - in 2013 and 2019 - where he played in six Tests. His average of just 19.66 gives credence to his thoughts on batting in England.

Given his recent purple patch, Khawaja should be on the team sheet come 16 June at Edgbaston. Throwing a jab at the Australian selectors, the veteran wished they had backed his class instead of other players in form.

"I've proven that over the years in first-class cricket; if you look at my record … I've been dropped seven times, and that's just Test cricket … and I've come back," he continued.

"Over the last ten years, I think they have been very reactive, and the media itself is also reactive.

"As a cricketer, you're going to fail one, two or three games, that's very normal, and then you score runs, and then you'll fail, and then your score runs. It's just a cycle of cricket.

"So I've always been big on just picking your best players and sticking with them, because they'll score you the most runs consistently, and I think over the years with selection for Australian cricket, we have chased our tail a little bit, trying to pick players 'in form'.

"But form is 100 percent temporary, class is not."

<p>The article <a href="https://www.planetsport.com/cricket/news/usman-khawaja-laments-difficult-english-conditions-ahead-ashes">Usman Khawaja laments difficult English conditions ahead of The Ashes </a> appeared first on Planetsport.com.</p>