Adelaide omission feels like the end for Khawaja

Usman Khawaja's omission in Adelaide is a full circle moment of sorts, just not the one he would have been hoping for.

The fifth Ashes Test in Sydney loomed as a natural conclusion to the final chapter of Khawaja's late career renaissance given it had been sparked in what he described as the fairytale Sydney Test four years earlier, albeit Khawaja has never spoken about an end point.

The probable end appears to have come sooner, in a twist of fate that is both ironic and eerily similar to how his return to Test cricket came about.

Having replaced Travis Head four years ago when he was ruled out due to Covid, and having then squeezed Marcus Harris out of the opening role for the next match when Head returned on account of his twin centuries in Sydney, Khawaja has now been squeezed out of the team on account of a one-off back injury, Head's success as a makeshift opener in the first two Tests and his desire to take it on.

After so much toing and froing on who should be Khawaja's opening partner in the lead-up to the Ashes, returning captain Pat Cummins confirmed that Khawaja was no longer first-choice despite being fit and available for Adelaide after missing Brisbane due to his back.

"I think the big thing that shifted on us is probably Trav opening after that first Test, and how good that's looked with the Weathers [Jake Weatherald]," Cummins said on Tuesday. "So we we're pretty happy with that batting line-up and it didn't feel like a need to change the middle order."

It is as much a redundancy as it is an axing, although that won't be much solace to Khawaja. These are familiar waters, as he has often been quoted saying he might be one of the most dropped and recalled players in Australian Test history.

But a recall this time seems highly unlikely. This omission has a finality to it even if both the captain and the coach Andrew McDonald have left the door ajar.

"I think the selectors have been quite adamant we're picking a side each week," Cummins said. "One of Uzzie's great strength is he has scored runs at the top, he's scored runs in the middle. So he's in the squad. If we didn't think he'd be good enough to come straight in, then he wouldn't be here in the squad. So absolutely, I can see a path back at some point if needed."

Khawaja turns 39 on Thursday. The last Australian player to play after the age of 39 was legspinner Bob Holland 40 years ago. The last Australian opener to play at that age was Lindsay Hassett over 70 years ago.

McDonald said age was no issue for the selectors, nor was it the reason for his back injury.

"He's had one back injury in his whole career, so I think that's an overreaction to correlate that to the age of the athlete," McDonald told SEN on Tuesday morning. "His [Sheffield] Shield numbers are incredibly good comparative to everyone else. I think he has the leading Shield average for the past three or four years.

"Every time he drops back to that level he dominates, now if that's a determiner of who is the next best or who is next in line then he is at the top of the pecking order. It feels as though people want to hear an end date from him or us. But we're not that team, we're not going to put end dates on people."

But this decision does feel like an end date. The selectors have been accused of shirking the hard calls. They have not shirked this one.

Khawaja did not cut a forlorn figure on Tuesday. But his presence at training was telling. He faced throw downs and spin in the nets while Head faced throws against a new ball.

Khawaja has hardly ever trained the day before a Test in his late career renaissance, preferring to conserve his mental energy and often playing golf, as he did in Perth before his back spasms appeared the following day. Khawaja said on Saturday that "I've always been a professional" in regards to his preparation.

His preparation has only really become an issue since his performance has declined. He is Australia's leading Test run-scorer since his return and has become one of their greatest ever openers.

But his numbers since the 2023 Ashes tell a different story. He averages 0.01 more than Mitchell Marsh over the period, and Marsh was dropped last year. Marnus Labuschagne has passed 50 five more times than Khawaja in four fewer innings in the period and also lost his place before being recalled.

Nathan Lyon, who has been left out of two of Australia's last three Test XI's, said on Monday that no one has a right to selection. Michael Neser has been dropped for Adelaide after a five-wicket haul in Brisbane. Beau Webster remains on the outer after averaging more than Khawaja and passing 50 as many times in 12 innings as Khawaja has in his last 36.

The team has looked far better without Khawaja. In three innings together the Head-Weatherald combination has yielded two of the four highest opening stands for Australia in the last 15 Tests since David Warner has retired. Head has been involved in three of them.

Cummins was asked whether Australia felt like they had scrambled England's thinking with Head's impromptu promotion.

"Potentially," Cummins said. "It's look like they've been able to keep the scoreboard ticking over. Whatever's been thrown at them they've had an answer to. It's really set up the platform for our innings. And so far, the few times they've batted I think you've seen people like Marnus [Labuschagne] and Steve [Smith] walk in after that as well and really get on the back of that and start their innings well.

"I don't know if it has scrambled the opposition, but it's certainly kind of got that momentum and kept that scoreboard ticking over and started our innings brilliantly."

Australia's fielding has also vastly improved. Labuschagne took a routine catch at first slip in the opening over of the Brisbane Test, similar to one that Khawaja dropped in Perth. Josh Inglis, who has replaced Khawaja in the top seven, produced a stunning direct hit run-out to remove Ben Stokes at a critical moment.

More than anything else though, Head's expressed desire to open in home conditions, something Khawaja had ironically pushed for ahead of last summer, has forced the selectors hand.

"I think when he was running off at Perth Stadium and he was demanding, he goes, 'I think it's my time, I think it's me,' we were kind of like, 'go for it'," Cummins said. "That was probably the first time it was like, hey, he really wants it and thinks it's his opportunity."

How long that desire lasts remains to be seen. Smith's enthusiasm for the opening challenge faded pretty quickly once he experienced fresh bowlers on a fresh pitch multiple times as well as the perils of a short twilight survival mission before stumps after a day or more in the field.

Even if that desire wanes, and selectors think Head is better deployed long-term in the middle, if feels like Khawaja's time has come and returning to him would be a backwards step for a team that is on the cusp of significant transition.

If it is the end, it would be emblematic of a career of ups and downs. Whether it's fair or not will be debated. His service to the team should be celebrated, whether he returns or not. Players of Khawaja's calibre, who play 85 Tests, score more than 6000 runs and post 16 Test hundreds do not come along all that often.

But right now he finds himself where he was when Australia last played an Ashes Test in Adelaide four years ago, on the outside of Australia's XI looking in.