12/16/25 10:33:00
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12/16 22:29 CST Khawaja's dramatic Ashes return innings ends just before tea on
Day 1 of 3rd test
Khawaja's dramatic Ashes return innings ends just before tea on Day 1 of 3rd
test
ADELAIDE, Australia (AP) --- Usman Khawaja scored 82 in a dramatic return to
the Ashes on Wednesday, helping salvage Australia's innings around a faltering
top order on the opening day of the third cricket test against England.
The veteran batter was rushed back into the lineup on the eve of his 39th
birthday to replace Steve Smith, who was ruled out with illness just before the
coin toss.
Khawaja survived a dropped catch on 5 before sharing important partnerships of
61 with Marnus Labuschagne and 91 with Alex Carey to lift Australia to 194 for
five at tea.
Carey was unbeaten on 48 and Josh Inglis was on 5, surviving the few minutes at
the end of the middle session after Khawaja lofted a slog-sweep against spinner
Will Jacks directly to Josh Tongue in the outfield.
England picked up wickets in pairs early in the morning and afternoon sessions,
with Jofra Archer (3-19) ending a 33-run opening stand in the ninth over and
returning to dismiss Marnus Labuschagne (19) and Cameron Green (0) in the first
over after lunch.
Khawaja missed the second test with a back injury and may have been considering
test retirement after being initially omitted from Australia's lineup for
Adelaide. But his prospects changed quickly when Smith was ruled out because of
nausea and dizziness.
Smith led Australia to eight-wicket wins in Perth and Brisbane in the absence
of regular skipper Pat Cummins. He hit the winning runs in Brisbane as
Australia took a 2-0 lead in the five-match series, leaving England needing a
victory in Adelaide to have any chance of reclaiming the Ashes.
After Cummins won the toss and elected to bat in his first test since
sustaining a back injury in July, Australia's new opening partnership of Travis
Head and Jake Weatherald was coasting against some fairly wayward bowling from
Brydon Carse.
But Archer struck with the second ball of his fifth over, cramping Weatherald
(18) with a short ball at almost 148 kph (92 mph) and getting a top edge to fly
up for an easy caught behind.
Carse took a wicket on the first ball of the next over as Australia slumped to
33-2, with Head (10) reaching for a drive and brilliantly caught by Zak Crawley
low to the ground at short cover.
Khawaja weathered early pressure from Tongue, who was playing his first test
match outside England, before driving at a ball that was moving away and edging
to second slip, where Harry Brook put down a catch at chest height in the 16th
over.
Apart from that, and a couple of edges that didn't carry to the slips, Khawaja
was in commanding form despite batting in the unfamiliar position at No. 4. He
hit 10 boundaries, including two masterful cut shots that split the field.
Just as his first century since January loomed, though, he slightly mistimed a
shot against Jacks and Tongue made no mistake in the deep.
Players on both teams wore black armbands to honor the 15 people killed and
dozens injured in an antisemitic attack at Sydney's iconic Bondi Beach on
Sunday that targeted the Jewish community celebrating the start of Hannukah.
Police described the mass shooting as a terrorist attack inspired by Islamic
State.
Flags were flown at half-staff on Day 1 at the Adelaide Oval, where folk singer
John Williamson performed his fabled song "True Blue" in a pre-match program
that included a moment's silence, the Indigenous "Welcome to Country" and the
national anthems.
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AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket
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