Ashes 2023 | Being treated like adults by Australia team management has made a difference: Usman Khawaja

Usman Khawaja was Australia's star performer in the first Test of Ashes 2023. In a closely-fought contest, England had the edge for most parts of the game. But Khawaja stood tall for the visitors with brilliant knocks of 141 and 65 as Pat Cummins & Co. held their nerves to win by two wickets and go 1-0 up in the five-match Test series. Opting to bat first, Ben Stokes-led England declared at 393-8, with Joe Root unbeaten on 118, before Khawaja's sublime 141 took the Aussies to 386 all-out. With a seven-run lead, England were dismissed for 273 as they set a challenging 282-run target.

Khawaja got dismissed for 65 in the final session as Australia were reduced to 209 for 7 before an unbroken 55-run ninth-wicket stand skipper Cummins (44 not out) and Nathan Lyon (16 not out) took the Aussies home. Now, the 36-year-old dwelled on Australia's epic win and feels players 'being treated like adults after a long time' in the team environment has helped make a difference.

'If you are letting the team down in any way, that's on you'

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"It's hard to quantify it (in the wins), but I think everything around that is being done with the team, with Pat and Andrew McDonald in terms of just cutting out the fluff. Cutting out the box-ticking stuff. Really stripping down the game, saying what's important, what do we think is important?" Khawaja told AAP.

"Even warm-ups every morning now are optional, do whatever you need to. That kind of stuff empowers players. It's empowered us. We take onus on ourselves. At the end of the day, you are responsible for your own performance because that in itself impacts the team. If you are letting the team down in any way, that's on you," the Aussie opener opined.

"We are all professionals and adults here and think it's the first time for a long time that we've really been treated like adults and that's made a big difference," Khawaja added.

Khawaja's comments come a year after Australia's former head coach Justin Langer's resignation. While Australia enjoyed good success under Langer, he didn't have a smooth ride with the national team, with many raising concerns over his strict approach. Ina documentary, Khawaja stated that players were afraid of Langer during Ashes 2019. Since his exit, Andrew McDonald has taken over and by Khawaja's recent admission, it seems the Australian players are now in a much better space in the dressing room.

Ashes 2023 edition's second Test kicks off on June 28 at Lord's. Khawaja-starrer Australia will look to go 2-0 up versus England and get closer to retaining the urn.

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