Moment Usman Khawaja sacrificed a maiden Test double ton to give Australia shot at winning

Usman Khawaja has revealed that he encouraged Australian Test cricket captain Pat Cummins to declare on day four of the third Test against South Africa – even though it would cost him a maiden Test double century.

Cummins outraged many cricket fans when he called time on the Australian first innings at the SCG in a decision that left opening batter Usman Khawaja stranded on 195 – just five runs from a possible milestone double ton. 

Cummins outraged many cricket fans when he called time on the Australian first innings at the SCG in a decision that left opening batter Usman Khawaja unbeaten on 195 – just five runs from a possible milestone double ton (Khawaja pictured celebrating his century)

However, the elegant left-handed opener said that the weather was the real problem throughout the Test.

‘The rain just kept cooking me,’ Khawaja told SEN Breakfast.

‘I really could have tried to get that 200 the night before if I really wanted to.

‘But, obviously having no idea I thought, ‘It’s day two, I’ve got tomorrow, I could get 400 here if I’m good enough, you’ve got all day tomorrow’.

‘I wasn’t thinking about it at all but then it rained all day during day three, and I thought, ‘That’s not ideal’.

‘Then I thought, ‘morning of day four, I’ll get it then’, but then on the morning of day four, it just started raining again.’

As the rain fell on Saturday morning, Khawaja decided to approach Cummins and encouraged him to make the call that would ultimately leave him stranded on 195

As the rain fell on Saturday morning, Khawaja decided to approach Cummins and encouraged him to make the call that would ultimately leave him stranded on 195.

‘I could sort of feel it off Patty, you can sort walk past and sense this awkward tension and I was like, ‘Yeah, I know what he’s thinking’,’ Khawaja said.

‘But it was alright, I actually made the effort, I went up to him and said, ‘Mate, do whatever you need to, don’t worry about me, you’ve got to try and win a Test match, we’ve all got to try and win a Test match’.

‘What kind of teammate would I be if we weren’t trying to do that? I was putting myself in front of him and said, ‘Just take the emotion out of it’, he was like, ‘I appreciate that’, so it was fine.’

Usman (pictured with daughter Aisha) told captain Pat Cummins, ‘Mate, do whatever you need to, don’t worry about me, you’ve got to try and win a Test match’

Later that night Cummins uploaded a photo of Khawaja in an Instagram post with the caption: ‘Sorry we couldn’t get the double but brilliant innings @usman_khawajy.’ 

Australia’s ambitious push for victory on the final day of the rain-affected Test fell short, with the match playing out in a draw.

The result however did ensure the Aussies claim the series win over South Africa, with strong performances in Melbourne and Brisbane.