Usman Khawaja CENTURY: ENG vs AUS 1st Test: Usman Khawaja has finally conquered England! The Australian opener slammed his first century in England to steady the visitors who were once struggling at 67/3.
Notably, this was Khawaja’s fourth Ashes century but only his first outside Sydney.
The 36-year-old has been in fine form for the Aussies in last 12 months and has scored 7 centuries since the start of 2022, which is joint most with England batter Joe Root.
Khawaja, who has a stunning record at home in Tests, had previously struggled in England, averaging just 19.66 with one half-century in 12 innings.
Earlier, Stuart Broad dismissed David Warner and Marnus Labuschagne in consecutive balls to put Australia on the backfoot before Ben Stokes got rid of Steve Smith.
Despite losing wickets consistently, Khawaja remained composed and formed a significant 81-run partnership with Travis Head for the fourth wicket. Both batters reached their half-centuries, but Moeen Ali dismissed Head in the 46th over.
Later, Khawaja stitched another crucial 72-run partnership with Ashes debutant Cameron Green to stabalize the visitors. However, Moeen claimed another wicket, dismissing Green for 38 runs off 68 balls.
On Day 1, Joe Root was the star for the hosts after he scored an unbeaten 118 as England declared their first innings at 393 for 8 in the first Ashes Test at Edgbaston.
For Australia, spinner Nathan Lyon was the pick of the bowlers with a four-wicket haul, while Josh Hazlewood claimed two.
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