‘That’s our best side’: Khawaja makes huge Ashes call and praises uncapped Aussie

Australian opener Usman Khawaja has declared the Test side’s at its best with Marnus Labuschagne batting at first drop, praising the credentials of uncapped opener Jake Weatherald.

On Wednesday, Australia announced its 15-player squad for this month’s Ashes series opener at Perth Stadium, with Weatherald getting a maiden national call-up and Labuschagne earning a recall courtesy of his blistering domestic form.

However, chief selector George Bailey couldn’t confirm whether the Queenslander would open or bat at his preferred position at No. 3, confessing the starting XI would depend on Cameron Green’s fitness.

Speaking to Fox Cricket on Thursday evening, Khawaja claimed the strongest Australian Test side had Labuschagne in the middle order rather than at the top — each of the right-hander’s 11 Test hundreds came at No. 3, while his five hundreds for Queensland this season were all at first drop.

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“Obviously my personal opinion, but I think our best team is always when Marnus is scoring runs at No. 3,” Khawaja said.

“I think of it as an opposition player. I put myself out of the Australian cricket team and I think, ‘Well, if I was the English captain, what team wouldn’t I want?’ And it’s always when you have Marnus scoring runs at three, Smith four, and Head five.

“At the moment, that’s our best side.”

Khawaja’s comments come a day after former Australian captain Steve Waugh suggested that players were having too much influence in selection matters.

The left-hander also heaped praise on Weatherald, who will make his debut in the first Test against England if Labuschagne bats at No. 3. The Tasmanian was the leading run-scorer during last season’s Sheffield Shield with 906 runs at 50.33, including three hundreds.

“He’s been knocking the door down,” Khawaja said.

“I’ve played a lot of cricket against him ... he’s a terrific player.

“Conditions last year were pretty hard at Shield cricket, and he was a standout. You can see the wickets were green, but he found a way to score runs, both leg-side and off-side.

“He’s very strong square of the wicket, cut shots, pull shots, but he also knows how to score down the ground.

“When he is playing well, he’s a guy who knows how to keep the momentum going and score runs.”

Khawaja, who celebrates his 39th birthday next month, was also asked about his future in the Test arena.

“At the end of the day, I want to go out there, score runs, and win games for Australia, and win the Ashes for Australia,” he responded.

“Hopefully we’ll do that. And when that happens, we’ll see where everything’s at.”

The first Ashes Test between Australia and England gets underway at Perth Stadium on November 21.

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