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Usman Khawaja (Template:Lang-ur; born 18 December 1986) is a Pakistani-born Australian cricketer. He was awarded player of the Australian Under 19 Championship in 2005 and also played for Australia in the 2006 U-19 Cricket World Cup in Sri Lanka as an opening batsman. His club side is Randwick-Petersham.

Career

A left-hand top order batsman, Khawaja made his first class debut for the New South Wales Blues in 2008. In the same year, he hit consecutive double centuries for the NSW Second XI—a feat never before achieved by a NSW player. On 22 June 2010 it was announced by Cricket Australia that Usman Khawaja would be a part of the Australian touring squad to play Pakistan in a two Test series in England.

Khawaja was selected as part of the 17-man Australian squad for the 2010–11 Ashes series. During the third test, Ricky Ponting fractured his finger and Khawaja was named as a stand-by if Ponting couldn't recover in time. He was subsequently selected in the Australian cricket team to play England in the fifth Test against England in Sydney on 3 January 2011. On 3 January 2011, Khawaja became the 419th Australian to be presented with an Australian Cricket Test baggy green cap. Khawaja became the first Muslim and first Pakistani-born Australian player to play test cricket for Australia, and only the seventh foreign-born cricketer to do so in the last 80 years.

Khawaja signed a contract to play for county side Derbyshire in the 2011 English domestic season. He played in four County Championship matches, averaging 39.87 with the bat and scoring a century (135) against Kent. After his county stint, he made five further Test appearances in 2011, scoring one half-century (65) against South Africa. He was dropped from Australia's Test team after the home series against New Zealand, making way for Shaun Marsh upon Marsh's return from injury.

Personal life

Khawaja was born in Pakistan and his family emigrated to New South Wales when he was a child. He became the first Muslim cricketer to represent Australia when made his debut at the 2010-11 Ashes series. He is a qualified pilot, completing a Bachelors degree in Aviation from the University of New South Wales before he made his test debut. He got his pilot licence before his driving licence. He was educated at Westfields Sports High School.

References

1. Stevenson, Andrew (12 February 2008). "Sky is the self-imposed limit for Blues' Muslim debutant". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 21 January 2011.
2. Warner puts the Blues on notice as Australia put him on standby Sydney Morning Herald
3. Ponting out, Khawaja in for Sydney Test Sydney Morning Herald
4. "Australia pick Usman Khawaja and Michael Beer for Test". BBC Sport. 2 January 2011. Retrieved 2 January 2011.
5. "Australians replace captain Ponting with first Muslim player". CNN. 31 December 2010. Retrieved 21 January 2011.
6. Nicolussi, Christian (8 January 2011). "Andrew Hilditch keeps faith in NSW trio Usman Khawaja, Steve Smith and Phillip Hughes". Herald Sun. Retrieved 21 January 2011.
7. Pringle, Derek (2 January 2011). "The Ashes: Australia pin hopes on old and the new in Michael Beer and Usman Khawaja for Sydney Test". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 20 January 2011.
8. "Usman Khawaja signs county deal". Herald Sun. 21 January 2010. Retrieved 21 January 2011.
9. "Khawaja agrees to Derbyshire return". ESPNcricinfo. 26 January 2012. Retrieved 26 January 2012.
10. "Kent v Derbyshire". www.sportinglife.com. 24 May 2011. Retrieved 26 January 2012.
11. "Australia batsman Ricky Ponting now likely to play through 2013 Ashes, News Limited's Malcolm Conn says". Fox Sports. 25 January 2012. Retrieved 26 January 2012.
12. Pringle, Derek (3 January 2011). "The Ashes: Australia v England, fifth Test, day one lunch report". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 20 January 2011.

External links

• Usman Khawaja at ESPNcricinfo

Template:Australia Cricket Team

Template:Persondata

• Use dmy dates from September 2012
• 1986 births
• Living people
• Australian cricketers
• Derbyshire cricketers
• New South Wales cricketers
• Australia Test cricketers
• Australian people of Pakistani descent
• Pakistani emigrants to Australia
• Sportspeople from Sydney
• People from Islamabad
• Australian Muslims
• University of New South Wales alumni