Last Updated on 1 year by Charbel Coorey

Cricket News: Usman Khawaja achieves Australian first since 1938 | Usman Khawaja achieves rare feat in England

Usman Khawaja became the first Australian batsman to play over 1,000 deliveries in a five-match Ashes series in England since 1938 as the visitors rounded off the opening day of the fifth Test at 61/1 at The Oval on Thursday.

Khawaja has been in some fine batting form in this series, having scored 403 runs by the end of day one of the fifth Test. He has taken 1036 deliveries for the same and struck a couple of half-centuries along with a ton.

Before day two at The Oval, his average in the 2023 Ashes stood at an impressive 50.37 with the highest score of 141 in the first game in Edgbaston.

Khawaja has really been a revelation at the top of the order for the Australian team in recent times. He was one of the pioneers of their resounding success in the World Test Championship (WTC) 2021-23 cycle, becoming the second highest run-scorer amongst all nations in the two-year-long period.

The southpaw scored 1621 runs in 17 Tests at a terrific average of 64.84 with six centuries and seven half-centuries in Australia’s victorious run. He excelled with the bat in multiple conditions, including in the sub-continent and has thus cemented his place at the top of the order.

His resilience, grit and free-flowing flair have been on a fantastic display in the Ashes as well. Countering England’s flashy Bazball strategy, Khawaja has held on to his trademark technique and bided his time at the crease to play meaningful knocks.

The same was evident on Thursday as well, with the 36-year-old taking 75 deliveries to get to his 26 with four boundaries.

Earlier, Australia bowled out England for 283 and currently trails the home team by 222 runs with nine wickets in hand. Mitchell Starc scalped four wickets as Josh Hazlewood and Todd Murphy contributed with a couple of scalps each.