Khawaja opens up about ODI omission

Queensland captain Usman Khawaja says he is "extremely disappointed" about missing selection in Australia’s ongoing ODI series but after talks with head coach Justin Langer he is confident the door is still open for a recall.

Khawaja was overlooked for the new-look Australia side that is one loss away from surrendering the series in straight sets to England, the premier ODI team in the world. 

Over the past four seasons in domestic one-day cricket, only Victorian Cameron White (1534 runs) and dumped NSW opener Nic Maddinson (1503) have scored more runs than Khawaja’s 1492 at 62.17.

"I was extremely disappointed, in all honesty," Khawja told RSN when asked about being overlooked for the Qantas tour of England. 

"I’ve had a lot of chats to the selectors and a couple with ‘JL’ (Langer) about it. I was a bit disappointed but some things you can’t control. 

"Hopefully I’ll get a chance over the next year. 

"I scored a lot of runs in one-day cricket for the last five or six years, especially in domestic cricket. 

"Even when I’ve been away and played in a couple of (Australia A) tours. I’m not sure there’s a lot more I can do other than just keep trying to score runs and hopefully I get a chance. 

"That’s part of cricket, selections. You’ve got to figure out a way to move past and try to score runs."

Instead of Khawaja, Langer and the national selectors called in veteran Western Australian Shaun Marsh, BBL|07 player of the tournament D’Arcy Short and wicketkeeper-batter Alex Carey to cover the gaping holes left by suspended pair Steve Smith and David Warner, who have combined for 18 of Australia’s last 30 ODI centuries. 

Marsh, who was the leading run-scorer in last summer’s JLT One-Day Cup, vindicated his selection with a superb 131 on Saturday in Cardiff in Australia’s 38-run loss.

Short made his debut in that match, scoring 21 opening the batting alongside Travis Head, while Carey is yet to add to the one cap he won in Australia against England after the Ashes. 

Khawaja, who has played 18 ODIs since debuting in January 2013, is hopeful he can return to the 50-over team after speaking with Langer. 

"I just assumed that they didn’t want me in the team because they just didn’t want me in the team – there’s not much other than that," he said. 

"My record in one-day cricket is better than my red-ball cricket, funnily enough. Sometimes things just don’t align. 

"But I’ve had some really good chats with JL in all honesty and he’s been really clear about everything. 

"Hopefully if I put my head down, keep training hard and doing all the right things, at some stage if there’s an opportunity, I’m still in line. 

"Talking to (Langer), I think the door is still (open), I’ve just got to put my head down and hopefully an opportunity presents itself."

Qantas tours of the UK and Zimbabwe

ODI squad: Tim Paine (c), Aaron Finch (vc), Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Travis Head, Nathan Lyon, Glenn Maxwell, Shaun Marsh, Michael Neser, Jhye Richardson, Kane Richardson, D’Arcy Short, Billy Stanlake, Marcus Stoinis, Andrew Tye

England ODI squad: Eoin Morgan (c), Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow, Jake Ball, Sam Billings, Jos Buttler, Tom Curran, Alex Hales, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes (injured), David Willey, Chris Woakes (injured), Mark Wood

T20 squad: Aaron Finch (c), Alex Carey (vc), Ashton Agar, Travis Head, Nic Maddinson, Glenn Maxwell, Jhye Richardson, Kane Richardson, D’Arcy Short, Billy Stanlake, Marcus Stoinis, Mitchell Swepson, Andrew Tye, Jack Wildermuth

Qantas Tour of the UK

June 7: Australia beat Sussex by 57 runs at Hove

June 9: Australia beat Middlesex by 101 runs at Lord's

June 13: England won by three wickets at The Oval

June 16: England won by 38 runs in Cardiff

June 19: Third ODI, Trent Bridge (D/N)

June 21: Fourth ODI, Durham (D/N)

June 24: Fifth ODI, Old Trafford

June 27: Only T20, Edgbaston (D/N)

Qantas T20I tri-series Tour of Zimbabwe

July 1: Zimbabwe vs Pakistan

July 2: Pakistan vs Australia

July 3: Australia vs Zimbabwe

July 4: Zimbabwe vs Pakistan

July 5: Pakistan vs Australia

July 6: Australia vs Zimbabwe

July 8: Final