Nothing to prove: Khawaja relaxed as showdown looms

And so, after two years, two months and 23 days, after the Justin Langer whispers, after much speculation he was finished, Usman Khawaja is back.

Well, back in the Test squad, at least; the details of a final XI for the Ashes opener are still three weeks and two important matches from being made public, although national selection chair George Bailey said today he knows who is likely to occupy the No.5 slot that has presented itself as Khawaja's route back to Baggy Green.

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Australia's Ashes squad: Tim Paine (c), Pat Cummins (vc), Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Marcus Harris, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Michael Neser, Jhye Richardson, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Swepson, David Warner

Australia A players: Sean Abbott, Ashton Agar, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Henry Hunt, Josh Inglis, Nic Maddinson, Mitchell Marsh, Matt Renshaw, Mark Steketee, Bryce Street

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Bailey's transparency on what now looks set to be the most-discussed selection matter in Australia's build-up to the Ashes extended to some ruminations on Travis Head, who was jettisoned last year against India in a mid-series reshuffle to accommodate the return from injury of David Warner, but who was also named in today's 15-player squad.

As fate would have it, the pair will meet as opposing captains next week in a Marsh Sheffield Shield clash between South Australia and Queensland.

"We're starting to get pretty close to where we're going to land on that," Bailey said of what appears to be the one undecided spot in Australia's top six. "They've both started the year really well, both finished (last) year really well.

"We're leaning towards one of them but the whole purpose of naming a squad is to have a squad there. So we'll work through that much closer to the start of the first Test."

It is the senior of the two batters who has shown the better Shield form this summer: 34-year-old Khawaja leads all run-scorers with 404 at 67.33, with two hundreds; 27-year-old Head, who is averaging 47.50, made 163 against Western Australia in his first outing of the season but has made just 122 runs in five innings since.

Bailey conceded Head's tailing off in run-making versus Khawaja's purple patch was "a factor" but does not believe the South Australian is struggling for touch, nor did he consider age to be "particularly relevant" in deciding between the two.

"You never want to be picking someone out of form, but I don't think there's a body of evidence to suggest Travis is out of form despite not scoring as many runs as he has (compared to) the back-end of last season and the way he started the season as well," he said.

"I actually think they're both batting beautifully."

Each player has endured the vacillations of the selection process on multiple occasions already, and a philosophical Khawaja seemed at ease with both that and the inevitable groundswell of speculation they are set to be at the centre of when he fronted media in Brisbane today.

"I've been on both sides of the spectrum: I've been in the Australian team, I've been dropped, I've had contracts, I haven't had contracts," he said. "I guess when you're a bit younger you hold onto those things more tightly.

"I've got nothing to prove to anyone – not to myself, not to anyone else. I'm going out there to do the best I can for any team I'm in.

"I know I won't be able to play cricket forever, so I'm enjoying playing whatever level I'm playing.

"People will probably say, 'He's talking crap', but it's true – I'm really just enjoying my cricket and my mindset won't change.

"I'm a big believer in fate; whatever is meant to happen, will happen."

The 44-Test veteran was part of Australia's four-nil home Ashes success four years ago, during which he only managed a pair of half-centuries in the first four Tests before coming home with a wet sail via a monster 171 over eight-and-a-half hours in the fifth, which laid the platform for an innings victory at the SCG.

In Australia, where he has scored six of his nine Test hundreds, he averages 52.97, while his last Test innings on home soil was a rollicking 101 not out against Sri Lanka in February 2019.

But a lot has happened since.

Khawaja was one of several top-order Australians who failed to impose themselves during the 2019 Ashes, and ultimately made way for the in-form Marnus Labuschagne, who has not since looked like relinquishing his spot.

When he missed selection for the home summer that ensued, despite his imposing record in Australia, rumours flew that he and Langer did not get on. The focal point of that assertion was the Amazon Prime documentary The Test, which offered a fly-on-the-wall look at the team's 'new era' under Langer, and which showed a couple of tense moments between the pair.

Khawaja has spoken previously of his positive relationship with Langer, and he repeated that today.

"The relationship's great," he said. "You get an intimate view from that Amazon documentary, but you don't get the whole picture, either.

"My relationship with 'JL' (Langer) has always been great … I still talk to him, I still text him, we get along fine. So I always find that (speculation) a bit odd.

"I've always been open and honest, I've never shied away from the truth. JL knows I'll always say everything to his face, and all my teammates know that, too."

Still, after missing out for consecutive home summers, and with his 35th birthday next month, the odds of his return to the national fold seemed long.

Ultimately, he has done it the traditional way; churning out first-class hundreds when it mattered, while last week's day-one 70 against a strong WA attack on a Gabba greentop would also have impressed Bailey, who was there to bear witness four weeks out from a first Test at the same venue.

"That was a pretty spicy wicket," said Khawaja, who averages 52.28 in first-class cricket at the Gabba versus Head's 20.83. "Overcast conditions (and) pretty much raining for three days straight.

"Whether or not that was the defining innings (that determined his Test squad recall), I don't really know.

"I love batting at the Gabba. I've scored a lot of runs there in the past.

"It's a ground that's very dear to me – I scored my first first-class hundred, and my first Test hundred there, it's obviously my home ground, so it's a ground that I love."

Aside from three innings at No.6 in Sri Lanka in his maiden Test year a decade ago, the left-hander has never batted below four in Baggy Green.

His rebirth as a middle-order batter for Queensland however, where he shuffled himself to No.4 to allow Labuschagne to bat at three and Joe Burns and new Australia A bat Bryce Street to open, has been both productive and likely beneficial to his selection claims.

In 12 matches there since the beginning of last season he is averaging 54.81, with four hundreds.

And casting an eye beyond the first Test, to the day-night affair in Adelaide from December 16, Khawaja's numbers again offer a compelling case for a recall in front of Head.

In 21 innings against the pink ball, he averages 50.63, with three hundreds and three fifties. In contrast, Head is averaging 30.14 from 15 innings with a best of 84.

"I get along with 'Heady' really well – he's a terrific lad, he's a great cricketer," Khawaja added. "If they pick him, he thoroughly deserves it, and if they pick me, I'd love the opportunity too."

Vodafone Men's Ashes v England

Tour Matches

Nov 23-25: England v England Lions, Brisbane

Nov 30 – Dec 3: England v England Lions, Brisbane

Dec 1-3: Australian intra-squad match, Brisbane

Dec 9-12: Australia A v England Lions, Brisbane

Tests

First Test: December 8-12, The Gabba

Second Test: December 16-20, Adelaide Oval

Third Test: December 26-30, MCG

Fourth Test: January 5-9, SCG

Fifth Test: January 14-18, Perth Stadium