Ashes: Khawaja Faces CA Notice After Dubbing Perth Pitch ‘piece Of...’

Ashes: Khawaja faces CA notice after dubbing Perth pitch ‘piece of...’ (Image Source: IANS)

Usman Khawaja Foundation: Usman Khawaja is expected to receive a formal notice from Cricket Australia after bluntly labelling the Perth Stadium surface for the first Ashes Test a “piece of s**t” during a charity lunch this week.

According to reports, CA officials were unhappy with the opener’s remarks, which came despite match referee Ranjan Madugalle awarding the wicket a “very good” rating, the highest an ICC official can give.

Madugalle’s assessment followed a match that finished inside two days, noting the surface had “good carry, limited seam movement, and consistent early bounce,” contributing to what he deemed a fair contest between bat and ball.

Khawaja, however, offered a sharply different view. Speaking at the event, he criticised the pitch for its variable bounce, pointing to the rapid fall of wickets on Day 1 and the number of batters struck and adding that even a player of Steve Smith’s calibre struggled to find the middle of the bat due to the up-and-down movement.

“Nineteen wickets on the first day and about 20 people got hit, that’s a great wicket, that seems real fair. Steve Smith’s by far the best cricketer I’ve ever played with, and he’s missing the middle of his bat by a long way – he does not miss the middle of his bat. He’s getting hit in the elbow. Up and down (movement) is the hardest, sideways is a little bit easier, but up and down, your hands can’t catch up. So, day one wicket at (Perth) is a piece of s**t, I’m happy to say that. It has been last year; it was this year,” Khawaja had said at an event for his Usman Khawaja Foundation.

Khawaja, however, offered a sharply different view. Speaking at the event, he criticised the pitch for its variable bounce, pointing to the rapid fall of wickets on Day 1 and the number of batters struck and adding that even a player of Steve Smith’s calibre struggled to find the middle of the bat due to the up-and-down movement.

Cricket Australia is expected to address the matter formally, with Khawaja’s comments drawing attention not only for their bluntness but for directly contradicting the ICC’s top-tier rating of the wicket.

Article Source: IANS