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A new documentary has revealed a heated confrontation between Australian coach Justin Langer and batsman Usman Khawaja, in the lead-up to a Test against Pakistan in 2018.
The series, played in the Middle East in October 2018, was the Test side's first assignment following the ball-tampering scandal that took place in South Africa earlier that year.
With both Steve Smith and David Warner suspended, Khawaja was left to carry much of the responsibility, with batsmen Aaron Finch, Travis Head and Marnus Labuschagne all making their debut in the first Test.
At a practice session prior to that Test, Langer insisted batsmen rotate between nets each time they were dismissed, despite acknowledging that "I know it pisses you off."
When the coach asked for feedback from the team after the session, Khawaja was the first to speak, and as Amazon Prime's The Test reveals, things got heated between player and coach.
Khawaja: "I think we were more worried about getting out than actually trying to execute better and execute well."
Langer (getting angry): "Yeah well what happens when you get out in a game?"
Khawaja: "If I'm getting out two times in the nets, I know I'm getting out two times in the nets. I'm playing f---ing Test cricket here."
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Langer: "Well what are you worried about?"
Khawaja: "I'm worried about harping too much on negatives"
Langer: "Well don't get out. What we are saying, is we're not going to accept you getting out, because for the last 20 times in Australian cricket, we've had 20 batting collapses. 20 f---ing batting collapses. We've got to get better at it.
"It's got nothing to do with how we setup the net session, because the Pakistanis, they might put 10 blokes around you. This isn't f---ing fair. Or they might put 10 blokes on the boundary. Oh this isn't going to suit my f---ing style. You've got to deal with it.
"You've got to deal with it in Test cricket. So we're going to put pressure on you. Now if you guys want to say, 'This isn't suiting my f---ing style,' no worries. It will suit your style when we don't have f---ing 20 batting collapses every time we play for Australia."
Langer was in a more conciliatory mood later, when he told the documentary that, "I love Uzzie, he's got his own mind, he's strong in his beliefs, and if you treat him with respect you usually get your best results."
Khawaja went on to play a match defining role in the first Test, scoring 85 and 141 as Australia escaped with a draw.
His second innings century, which consumed more than eight hours as Australia battled to save the match, is generally regarded as one of his finest innings.
However, less than a year later he was out of the side, dropped after a disappointing home summer against India, and failing to pass 50 in six innings against England.
"If the coach tells me to do something I'm the kind of guy who pushes back," Khawaja told The Test.
"You don't tell me what to do. That's not saying I'm not a team player, I do what the team needs me to do. I always put the team first, what I think the team needs, but my motivation comes from me. You can't force someone to do something they don't want to do."
https://wwos.nine.com.au/cricket/ju...umentary/b8c40caf-50e7-43d8-91d9-22b4c0f70ebf
A new documentary has revealed a heated confrontation between Australian coach Justin Langer and batsman Usman Khawaja, in the lead-up to a Test against Pakistan in 2018.
The series, played in the Middle East in October 2018, was the Test side's first assignment following the ball-tampering scandal that took place in South Africa earlier that year.
With both Steve Smith and David Warner suspended, Khawaja was left to carry much of the responsibility, with batsmen Aaron Finch, Travis Head and Marnus Labuschagne all making their debut in the first Test.
At a practice session prior to that Test, Langer insisted batsmen rotate between nets each time they were dismissed, despite acknowledging that "I know it pisses you off."
When the coach asked for feedback from the team after the session, Khawaja was the first to speak, and as Amazon Prime's The Test reveals, things got heated between player and coach.
Khawaja: "I think we were more worried about getting out than actually trying to execute better and execute well."
Langer (getting angry): "Yeah well what happens when you get out in a game?"
Khawaja: "If I'm getting out two times in the nets, I know I'm getting out two times in the nets. I'm playing f---ing Test cricket here."
Latest Cricket Videos
Langer: "Well what are you worried about?"
Khawaja: "I'm worried about harping too much on negatives"
Langer: "Well don't get out. What we are saying, is we're not going to accept you getting out, because for the last 20 times in Australian cricket, we've had 20 batting collapses. 20 f---ing batting collapses. We've got to get better at it.
"It's got nothing to do with how we setup the net session, because the Pakistanis, they might put 10 blokes around you. This isn't f---ing fair. Or they might put 10 blokes on the boundary. Oh this isn't going to suit my f---ing style. You've got to deal with it.
"You've got to deal with it in Test cricket. So we're going to put pressure on you. Now if you guys want to say, 'This isn't suiting my f---ing style,' no worries. It will suit your style when we don't have f---ing 20 batting collapses every time we play for Australia."
Langer was in a more conciliatory mood later, when he told the documentary that, "I love Uzzie, he's got his own mind, he's strong in his beliefs, and if you treat him with respect you usually get your best results."
Khawaja went on to play a match defining role in the first Test, scoring 85 and 141 as Australia escaped with a draw.
His second innings century, which consumed more than eight hours as Australia battled to save the match, is generally regarded as one of his finest innings.
However, less than a year later he was out of the side, dropped after a disappointing home summer against India, and failing to pass 50 in six innings against England.
"If the coach tells me to do something I'm the kind of guy who pushes back," Khawaja told The Test.
"You don't tell me what to do. That's not saying I'm not a team player, I do what the team needs me to do. I always put the team first, what I think the team needs, but my motivation comes from me. You can't force someone to do something they don't want to do."
https://wwos.nine.com.au/cricket/ju...umentary/b8c40caf-50e7-43d8-91d9-22b4c0f70ebf
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