"I'm quite resigned to the fact that I'll probably miss out" - Usman Khawaja on not playing 5th Ashes Test

Australia's veteran batter Usman Khawaja expects to make way for Travis Head for the fifth Ashes Test despite making an irrefutable case for retention. Khawaja also believes it's fair for him to miss out after replacing Head in Sydney.

On Saturday, the middle-order batter joined an elite club by striking a hundred in each innings of an Ashes Test. The left-hander made 137 in the first innings and followed it up with an unbeaten 101 in the second, his ninth and tenth Test hundreds.

In the process, Khawaja became only the sixth Australian, second active, to score two hundreds in an Ashes Test. Thanks to Khawaja's imperious exploits, Australia set England an unlikely target of 388 runs. The visitors reached 30-0 by stumps on the fourth day as they look to avoid defeat for the first time in four games this series.

Speaking to BT Sport after the day's play, Khawaja said he would understand if the management drops him for the final Test in Hobart. That's because he only came in for the COVID-19-stricken Head. Praising the selectors for sticking to the process and promoting continuity, the 35-year-old, playing his first Test in nearly three years, said:

"At the moment I'm quite resigned to the fact that I'll probably miss out. That's just from talking to George Bailey about continuity. That's important; I'm not totally against that process. I actually like the processes that the selectors have been taking throughout the series, so at the moment I'm not really expecting to play the next match."

Khawaja replaced his fellow left-hander Head, who tested positive for COVID-19, for the fourth Test in Sydney. Head played impressively in the first Test in Brisbane, striking 152, before bagging a crucial fifty in the second innings in Adelaide. He is now expected to replace Khawaja and play the fifth Test if he is deemed fit to play.

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"This game is not easy, you don't always get games like these" - Usman Khawaja

Usman Khawaja said that back-to-back tons in the same Ashes Test are what players dream of, and he was fortunate to play the Sydney game.

The Pakistan-born Australian player added:

"This game is not easy; you don't always get games like these, back-to-back hundreds; I wasn't supposed to be playing this game either. Fortune had it that I was in for Heady, and it's amazing how it's worked out. I couldn't have written it better myself."

England face an uphill task to avoid defeat on the final day despite all ten second-innings wickets intact. Injuries to Jos Buttler, Jonny Bairstow and Ben Stokes means the visitors have their task cut out to bat out almost 100 overs on the final day and avoid a fourth-straight defeat.