Cricket-Khawaja heads to England with low expectations | Mighty 790 KFGO

MELBOURNE (Reuters) Australia’s Usman Khawaja rates England as the toughest place for top-order batsmen and heads into the Ashes with low expectations after struggling on previous tours.

Khawaja has a batting average of 19.66 from six Tests in England, less than half his career average of 47.81, and was dropped after three matches in the 2019 Ashes, which Australia drew 2-2 to retain the urn.

“I think England is the hardest place in the world for a top-three batsman to bat, plain and simple,” Khawaja told Australian media.

A new ball is hard work, but then you get the (weather) conditions, and there’s a bit of luck involved.

If I’ve learned anything, work hard, Train hard (and) if you’re going to England, go in with low expectations and work on each game one at a time because you’re going to fail as a batsman.

But when you score, you try to redeem as much as you can.

Khawaja was hardly alone in his struggle to top the run charts in 2019, with teammate David Warner averaging 9.50, the worst ever average for an opener who has played 10 innings in a series.

Dropped after the Leeds Test in 2019, Khawaja was only recalled for the fourth Test of the most recent Australian Ashes in 2021-22, which the hosts won 4-0.

The classy left-hander scored two centuries batting at number five in that Sydney match and has been a fixture in Australia’s Tests ever since.

I feel like I’m a better player than 10 years ago, said the 36-year-old.

But there are no guarantees (James) Anderson, (Stuart) Broad, they are amazing bowlers, they are hard work at the start.

(Reporting by Ian Ransom in Melbourne; Editing)