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Unlucky Usman could feel selection squeeze: Ponting

Former Test skipper says the return of Head and the promise of the Warner-Harris opening pairing might well leave century-maker on the sidelines for the fifth Test

Usman Khawaja's glittering comeback century has given Australian selectors their latest headache but Ricky Ponting believes Travis Head's return for the Hobart Test at his expense is inevitable.

Khawaja himself cast doubt over the likelihood of holding his spot after his delightful 137 at the SCG against England, with his ninth Test hundred coming after a near two-and-a-half year absence from the team.

Ponting concedes he had thought Head, Australia's leading run scorer this summer before contracting COVID-19 before the fourth Vodafone Ashes Test, would miss out for the first Test at the Gabba, expecting selectors to instead pick Khawaja at his home ground.

Head vindicated the decision with a whirlwind 152 in that match, a knock Ponting is certain will be fresh in the memory when selectors pick their XI for the final Test against England, a day-night contest at Blundstone Arena.

National selectors have not been afraid to make tough calls this summer, leaving out Jhye Richardson after he took a five-wicket haul in Adelaide while MCG hero Scott Boland would likely have missed out in Sydney had Richardson or Josh Hazlewood been fit.

"Travis has been outstanding in the series so far," Ponting told cricket.com.au.

"In fact, that's the best I've ever seen him bat, in Brisbane, and then the way he carried that over into that little cameo (a second-innings 51) he played in Adelaide when his team needed him to go out and score quickly (was impressive).

"It just happens … it's a huge call to make.

Khawaja marks Test return with sparkling century

"I was on record saying the same thing last week with Boland, Richardson and 'Hoff' (Hazlewood) – even though Boland did as well as he did last week, I felt if Richardson and Hoff were both fit, both of those guys had to be considered for selection ahead of Boland.

"It's all about taking your opportunities when they come and everyone that Australia have given an opportunity to so far in this series has really taken their chance.

"But you've got to go back to what your first picked team was, because at that stage (at the start of the series) it was the strongest XI that Australia could put out.

"What it does do is just reaffirm in Usman's own mind that he's good enough for international level still and gives selectors the ammunition they need for future teams they're picking."

Flawless Khawaja delights SCG, Broad takes five

At the least, Khawaja has guaranteed his place in Australia's squad for the upcoming tour of Pakistan, which the Islamabad-born 35-year-old (who has never played in his native country) labelled as an "unbelievable" opportunity.

Before then, there would appear only two other routes for him back into the Test side in Hobart should Head return as expected.

The first is as an opener in place of Marcus Harris, but the Victorian won plaudits for his game-high 76 on a tough surface in Melbourne last week.

Harris with timely 76 in front of home fans

Ponting has called for the Aussies to give him a long-term opportunity to embed himself as David Warner's partner.

The other is in place of Cameron Green; while the young allrounder’s returns with the ball this summer have been a huge boon for Australia, he has struggled to have the same impact with the bat.

His dismissal today for five has left him with 57 runs at 14.25 from five innings in this series, with Ponting reiterating his concerns over "technical deficiencies" in the towering right-hander's game.

But despite Ponting identifying issues with his back-foot play and his trigger movement before the bowler's release, the former Test captain believes Green's bowling is now an invaluable resource for the Aussies, especially as their specialist quicks near the end of a long campaign.

"I think they have invested enough in Green at the moment (not to drop him)," said Ponting. "We've seen some great improvements with the ball from Green as well.

"The fact that potentially they'll go into Hobart with (Mitchell) Starc and (Pat) Cummins who will have had a fair bit of work under their belt at the end of this Test might be another reason why they might think about having another bowling option up their sleeve.

"There are some technical deficiencies there that are starting to show up with Cameron Green's batting.

"It's his inability to want to play off the back foot early in his innings that's bringing him undone. He's getting stuck on the front foot and missing out on lots of scoring opportunities off his back foot.

"Which we know he's got – we’ve seen him do it before, we’ve seen him take on the pull shot and play back-foot punch shots.

"There's some work to do … but I think they'll stick with him."

HCL Vantage Point - Ricky Ponting on Usman Khawaja

"He's been a bit misunderstood as a player and as a person throughout his career because of how how easy and laconic and laid back he can make batting look at different times

"That's probably been something that a lot of people have held against him.

"But if you watch the way that he's played today and look back at some of the other times in his career when things have been really difficult, more often than not he's found a way to get the job done for himself and for his team."

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