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"Piece of s***": Usman Khawaja slams ICC's positive verdict for Perth pitch in 1st Ashes Test

Soumyajit Dutta

The Perth pitch and Usman Khawaja [Source: @codecricketau/X.com]The Perth pitch and Usman Khawaja [Source: @codecricketau/X.com]

Australian batter Usman Khawaja has strongly criticized the pitch used for the first Ashes Test in Perth, calling it unfit for playing despite the ICC giving the playing surface its highest "very good" rating. 

Notably, Khawaja, who was playing out of his normal position due to a back issue, had a poor match, scoring only two runs. His place in the team for the next Test is now in doubt, given his back issues and Travis Head's surge as the opener.

Khawaja delivers aggressive verdict on Perth disaster

Speaking of the poor play with the bat and the dominance of the bowlers, Khawaja did not hold back his disapproval of the pitch conditions, which was rated remarkably by ICC.

"Nineteen wickets on the first day, about 20 people got hit – that's a great wicket, that seems real fair?" said Khawaja, also referring to a similar situation from last year, as per TOI.

Khawaja pointed to the struggles of teammate Steve Smith as proof of the difficult conditions.

"Steve Smith is by far the best cricketer I've played with. He's missing the middle of his bat by a long way, and he does not miss the middle of the bat. You can't really predict up and down [bounce]. Your hands can't catch up," Khawaja added.

Khawaja didn't mince words

He was very direct in his assessment of the first-day pitch, stating, "The day one wicket is a piece of s***, I'm happy to say that. They do get better day two, day three, but day four they start to crack up again" Khawaja explained.

Nevertheless, Khawaja has been named in an unchanged squad for the second Test in Brisbane, while bowlers Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood remain unavailable due to injury.

The Australia team will find them battling the 'bazballers' once again on December 4 at Gabba as Steve Smith continues to lead the side in absence of Cummins.