Australian skipper Pat Cummins opted to announce his team’s first innings on day four of the third Test against South Africa at the SCG leaving lead-off batsman Usman Khawaja unbeaten on 195.
Cummin’s decision infuriated fans on social media, as Khawaja was down just five runs from a possible first double century.
Some even drew comparisons to the Sachin Tendulkar-Rahul Dravid incident in 2004 when then skipper Dravid had stated that Tendulkar hit 194.
After no play on Friday, further rain on Saturday morning meant play could not resume before lunch, effectively forcing Cummins to declare.
That was despite Usman Khawaja being stranded at 195 and not looking to give his bowling attack any hope of bowling out South Africa twice to win the game in just five sessions remaining.
Usman Khawaja was unable to complete his 200 and Pat Cummins declared the innings. Just like the Sachin-Dravid incident!
β S. (@iamsohail__1) January 7, 2023
Explaining captains when players weren’t out in the 1900s
1. Frank Worrell 197* against England (1960)
Captain: Gerry Alexander
Result: draw2. Sachin Tendulkar 194* against Pakistan (2004)
Captain: Rahul Dravid
Result: India won3. Usman Khawaja 195* against South Africa (2023)
Captain: Pat Cumminsβ ππππ’π« πππ¦ππ§ | ΩΨ§Ψ―Ψ± Ψ―Ψ§Ω Ψ§Ω (@nadirdaman) January 7, 2023
βHe was fine; all hitters would be fine with a call like that,β Hazlewood said of Khawaja’s reaction when he didn’t get a chance to complete his first double century. “Obviously we’re running out of overs, and it had already been talked about, so he’s fine with it.”
Khawaja achieved his highest Test score as Australia reached an impressive 475/4.
Khawaja made an unbeaten 195 off 368 balls, with 19 boundaries and a six.