- Veteran star is playing in his last Test at the SCG
Former NRL and rugby union star Sonny Bill Williams has been slammed for a post he published to pay tribute to Usman Khawaja.
Khawaja, 39, recently took to the crease at his last Test, and was dismissed for just 17 in Australia‘s first innings at the SCG.
But it’s the wording of a comment Khawaja’s fellow Muslim sports star Williams made that has seen cricket fans pile into the former NRL and All Blacks powerhouse.
‘To my favourite Australian cricketer Usman Khawaja, May Allah continue to bless you. Looking forward to watching you run out in your last test match,’ Williams wrote on X.
Fans have an issue with Williams’ use of the phrase ‘watching you run out’, which could be taken to mean he was looking forward to seeing Khawaja lose his wicket in that fashion.
Sonny Bill Williams made an error which fans picked up on social media when he was paying tribute to Usman Khawaja
SBW’s use of the phrase ‘run out’ means something very different in cricket than it does in rugby union and the NRL, and fans picked up on it straight away
Williams (pictured) is a dual international who has starred for the Bulldogs, Roosters and the All Blacks in a stellar career.
Fans wasted no time taking aim at Williams’ phrasing error.
‘Watching you run out? He didn’t mean on pitch did he? Lol,’ one person wrote on social media.
‘Run out is the wrong term in this instance,’ another added, with several more making the same observation.
Khawaja is currently taking part in his 88th and final Test match for Australia.
He has scored 16 Test hundreds for his country.
The left-hander made his retirement announcement at a press conference a few days before the Sydney Test began.
Khawaja slammed media and journalists alike, accusing them of hitting him with racist stereotypes during his 15-year career.
The 39-year-old made his debut in the Ashes Test at the SCG in 2011.
The polarising left-hander is pictured embracing Bondi shooting hero Ahmed Al Ahmed at the Sydney Test on Sunday
Pictured: One example of cricket fans poking fun at Williams’ tweet
He is now ending his career in another match against the old enemy at the same ground just 15 years later.
The Pakistani-born veteran enjoyed a career revival in 2022-23, with his best series coming in the nation of his birth.
He scored two centuries and two half-centuries to peel off 496 runs at an average of 165.33.
Khawaja is also one of just six men in history to score back-to-back centuries in the same Ashes Test match.