England's Brydon Carse celebrates the wicket of Australia Usman Khawaja, right, during the first Ashes cricket test match between Australia and England in Perth, Friday, Nov. 21, 2025.(AP Photo/Gary Day)Usman Khawaja, under fire after his antics during the Ashes 1st Test at Perth, has now come out and said that the pitch used to play was a ‘piece of shit’ and that a similar incident had happened in India.
Khawaja, suffered from back spasms at the start of the first Test and could not bat as an opener. He came in at four, and made two runs before losing his wicket to Bryson Carse. Khawaja didn’t bat in the second innings after Australia asked Head to open for them in the chase.
“Nineteen wickets on the first day and about 20 people got hit, that’s a great wicket – that seems real fair,” Khawaja said tongue in cheek at a lunch for the Usman Khawaja Foundation.
“The same thing happened last year in the Indian Test, it’s just that day one wicket, the ball just does not react. Steve Smith’s by far the best cricketer I’ve ever played with, and he’s missing the middle of his bat by a long way – he does not miss the middle of his bat. He’s getting hit in the elbow, he’s getting hit,” he added.
Khawaja also said that while sideways movement was something easier, it was the unpredictability of a ball moving up or down that causes batsman real problems, and according to him, Perth has had that problem not just this year, but previously as well.
“You can’t really predict up and down. Up and down is the hardest – sideways is a little bit easier, but up and down, your hands can’t catch up. So day one wicket at (Perth) is a piece of s***, I’m happy to say that. It has been last year, it was this year,” Khawaja said.
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