Cricket great Mark Taylor has taken aim at under fire Usman Khawaja for his handling of the recent controversy involving his attendance at the Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix in Melbourne.
Khawaja found himself in the firing line last week for ditching the Queensland Bulls to instead attend the Australian F1 Grand Prix in Melbourne with his wife.
Queensland cricket boss Joe Dawes clipped the 38-year-old veteran, claiming Khawaja had no medical reason to sit out and accusing him of choosing not to play.
Cricket legend Ian Healy also took aim at Khawaja for having a ‘pick and choose mentality’.
Khawaja, who fronted the media in Brisbane on Friday, revealed he had been managing a hamstring injury and had followed a plan put in place with Cricket Australia’s medical team and selector George Bailey.
He said that he had played through pain while scoring a ton during Queensland’s previous match against Tasmania, a do-or-die game in which he scored a century.
Usman Khawaja found himself in hot water for ditching the Queensland Bulls to instead attend the Australian F1 Grand Prix in Melbourne with his wife
Cricket great Mark Taylor says ‘it wasn’t a good look’ for the Aussie veteran
That match coincided with Cyclone Alfred hitting Brisbane. Despite the danger, Khawaja left his young family to play for the Bulls.
On Sunday, Taylor put the unfortunate situation down to a likely miscommunication, but wasn’t entirely happy with Khawaja’s actions.
‘Uzzy is a former Queensland captain, a very senior player, obviously with the Australian side and the Queensland side,’ he said on Nine’s Wide World of Sports.
‘There’s a bit of onus on him to say to Joe Dawes … and make sure Queensland cricket know that “hey, I’m not playing”. I think he could have done a lot better.
‘It’s not a great look when Queensland are going into a Shield final and you’ve got their administration at loggerheads with their players.’
Taylor went on to say that attending the F1 wasn’t a great look for the veteran opener.
‘He’s been playing for Queensland. He played the match before that. He missed this game because he had a niggle (and) went to the F1,’ he said.
‘He knew it wasn’t going to be a great look because he actually said that he was trying to keep it under the radar a little bit, so he knew it wasn’t going to be a great look.
Khawaja has fired back at suggestions he did not make sacrifices for his state, after revealing he played against Tasmania on one leg, despite the impending threat of Tropical Cyclone Alfred
The 38-year-old, who has had a huge year of cricket, missed the final regular season Sheffield Shield match with a hamstring complaint
‘I would have liked to have seen him own it and say, ‘OK, I wasn’t going to play’.
‘He should have let Joe Dawes know – he’s really his employer at this stage. Not Cricket Australian, it’s Queensland cricket.’
Khawaja will return for the Sheffield Shield final next week in Adelaide.
He captained the Bulls to their last title in 2020–21 and remains a key part of their squad. He also has ambitions to play in the next home Ashes series.
Queensland captain Marnus Labuschagne said he had no concerns with Khawaja’s absence, calling it ‘the perfect result’ to have him fresh for the final.
‘We understand if we want the best out of him, he needs to be ready and not injured,’ he said.
The issue has raised broader questions about the obligations of players contracted to Cricket Australia but not to their state teams.
Under the current system, Khawaja doesn’t have a deal with Queensland, while players like Pat Cummins, Steve Smith, and Mitchell Starc have also skipped recent Shield games.
Nathan Lyon, who was also at the Grand Prix with his wife Emma, has avoided similar criticism despite technically being available to play for NSW.
Steve Smith also skipped the final Shield round while overseas in America. Meanwhile, Scott Boland missed Victoria’s game with knee soreness.
As the fallout continues, Khawaja said he’s open to mending fences with Dawes – but only after the Shield final.
‘For me, the most disappointing thing was, I tried to keep this behind the scenes. It’s obviously not anymore.’
