Sydney, Jan 8 (IANS) Australia’s five-wicket win in the fifth and final Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Thursday meant the most for Usman Khawaja, who walked off the field for one last time in his career, having announced his retirement a couple of days before the game began.
When the 88-Test veteran walked into the field on Day 5 of the SCG Test, his teammates held themselves back as Khawaja led them onto the field. Later, the England team formed a guard of honour near the pitch when he walked out to bat one final time in the final innings when the hosts were asked to chase a modest 160-run target.
Speaking to the broadcasters after Australia’s win, Khawaja expressed gratitude to have won the final game of his career and to have gotten the opportunity to celebrate with his teammates.
"It means a lot. So much has gone into it, so long. It's funny, the game of cricket is so great. And I said to Rach this morning, she was like, just enjoy it. The only thing I wanted was to win. Finish off the Ashes with a win. I'd love nothing more. As much as I wanted to go out there and score runs and hit the winning runs, I'm just grateful for one last final win and celebrate with my teammates.”
Khawaja’s scores in his final game weren’t ideal, as he registered figures of 17 and 6 in the two innings, batting in the middle order. The 39-year-old stated that he found it hard to concentrate, with his emotions being all over the place.
Speaking about how he controlled himself, Khawaja said, "It was very tough. I was trying to act cool, but in the intense Test match, I found it really hard to control my emotions.”
“I've prided myself on being able to control my emotions my whole career. I haven't given away too much to the opposition or to anyone. I found it really hard to concentrate a lot. Even in the first innings, I found it hard to get into rhythm. And even today, it was... my whole career, particularly the last end of the career has been built on process, process, process.
"It's just so hard to go out there and concentrate. But I'm glad we got the win, got over the line. And it's something I'll cherish for the rest of my life, being able to finish here at the SCG,” he added.
Australia clinched the Ashes series 4-1 and claimed the urn after winning the final game at the SCG, and Khawaja retired from international cricket, after a memorable 15-year career, in the same city where he was raised as a kid and made his first-class and Test debuts.
--IANS
vi/bc