While the rest of the team went for warm-up laps of the Gabba, Khawaja did back stretches with team physio Nick Jones.
Once fielding commenced, he took on the humble role of backstop for slips catching practice. Khawaja was soon joined there by the backup all-rounder Webster, while reserve batsman Inglis joined the slips cordon.
Usman Khawaja in action in the nets.Credit: Getty Images
Khawaja twirled a pink ball in his hands with a leg break action as Marnus Labuschagne took his state teammate’s spot at first slip. While unwilling to comment when approached by this masthead, Khawaja remains determined to be part of a winning Ashes team.
His back problems in Perth were initially of a minor variety, though awkwardly timed due to the rapid onset of Australia’s first innings after Mitchell Starc rolled the England side on the opening day, forcing him down the batting order.
But the injury worsened on day two when he leapt unsuccessfully to try to claim a catch at first slip, fully extending his back and causing much more serious spasms.
Those issues led to the ingestion of an enormous amount of anti-inflammatory tablets and ultimately an injection in his back to try to settle things down.
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While he was able to run and bat during an optional session on Monday afternoon, Khawaja still felt stiffness afterwards, leading to a series of conversations with medical staff and selectors that evening and the following morning, culminating in his withdrawal on Tuesday afternoon.
The Australian side is particularly conscious of the risk of taking a player who is not quite 100 per cent fit into a Test match in Brisbane, after they lost Josh Hazlewood during the corresponding game against India last summer. With no injury subs in place during a Test match, players are keenly aware of their responsibility not to let teammates down.
Ironically, Khawaja now finds himself more or less where he was before his recall in the 2021-22 Ashes series: a squad player hoping for another opportunity.
Khawaja was unable to open the batting during the first Test due to back spasms, before later describing the day one Perth surface as a “piece of shit”. He made two runs off six balls in the first innings and did not bat in the second.
Despite his work with stretching bands at training on Tuesday, Usman Khawaja’s back injury did not recover in time for him to play in the second Ashes Test.Credit: Getty Images
“Khawaja will remain with the team to continue his rehabilitation,” read a Cricket Australia statement. “He has not been replaced in the squad.”
The lack of a replacement suggests selectors still see Khawaja featuring later in the series, and avoids an awkward conversation after former captain Mark Taylor publicly urged Australia to drop him for Brisbane.
Boland said he believed Khawaja had done enough in the nets on Monday to prove his fitness.
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“It’s hard because he’s put in a lot of work since the last game and get his body right,” Boland said. “But yeah, he hasn’t come up unfortunately. I thought he looked pretty good in the nets but he must have thought to himself he wasn’t good to go.”
Asked if the late withdrawal was unsettling, Boland said: “I guess it is a little bit. We probably planned to have Uzzie there the whole time. The best thing about our team over the last few years is when someone has come out, either due to form or an injury, someone’s always stood up and done their job. I think Trav did that last week.
“We’ve got huge depth in our squad and we can replace anyone if we need to.”
Khawaja’s latest setback adds to growing uncertainty over his Test future. He is averaging 35.6 this year, despite belting 232 against Sri Lanka. He has one score above 90 in his past 45 Test innings.
Meanwhile, England have finalised their XI, with spinning all-rounder Will Jacks set to replace the injured Mark Wood. Despite not playing a Test since December 2022, the Surrey off-spinner will line up for just the third match of his career in an otherwise unchanged England side.
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