Usman Khawaja had been set to open the batting for Australia but ended up coming in at number four because he spent too long off the field for toilet breaks during England’s innings
Aussies blamed Usman Khawaja for their collapse after he was banned from his opening batsman role for taking too long toilet breaks.
The 38-year-old veteran was expected to lead his team’s run-scoring response after England were bowled out.
But he had to bat at four because of a rule that said he was off the ground for too long during England’s innings due to ‘toilet breaks and stretching’. Meanwhile, TNT’s Ashes coverage has been roundly slammed by disgruntled fans.
Opener Jake Weatherald – making his Test debut – was out for a duck while new fellow opener Marnus Labuschagne only got nine.
Khawaja got just two when he eventually came in.
Team bosses later said the ageing star’s absence for 19 minutes had been due to back stiffness.
The laws of cricket state that if a player is off for longer than eight minutes they are not allowed to bowl or bat until they have fielded for that same length of time.
Khawaja had only been back on the field for seven minutes when England were bowled out.
Australian cricket great Tom Moody, 60, said the gaffe was ‘beyond a joke’ and blamed ‘poor management’.
Cricket commentator Peter Lalor said: “It’s pretty hard to understand how Australia can put so much effort into getting this batting lineup right and then comes time to open Usman Khawaja can’t do it. It’s a lack of game awareness.”
Former Australian captain Ricky Ponting said: “They’ve obviously been caught off-guard. Jake Weatherald would have forging a relationship with Usman all week to build up and face his first ball in Test cricket. That was all taken away.”
England fans suggested Khawaja was desperate for the loo because he had to face speed demon bowlers like Jofra Archer and Mark Wood.