Ashes 2023: "James Anderson, Stuart Broad, They're Unbelievable Bowlers, They're Tough Work At The Start" - Usman Khawaja

The much anticipated Ashes 2023 is all set to commence on 16th June 2023. The mighty Aussies would be tested against England’s ultra-attacking approach ‘Bazball’ who have been unstoppable. All eyes would be on Usman Khawaja who has been the lightning spark for Australia since last year. Usman Khawaja has amassed 1608 runs in from January 2022 with an average of 69.90.

Australia hasn’t won the Ashes in England since 2001, last time in 2019 they retained the Ashes by 2-2 and now would be aiming to end the drought of 22 years. The duo of Steven Smith & Marnus Labuschagne can be seen playing county cricket in England which undoubtedly serves as a stepping stone for the iconic rivalry.

IPL 2023 | Dream11 Prediction | Fantasy Cricket Tips | Cricket Match Prediction Today | Cricket News | Cricket Live Score

Skipper Ben Stokes & head coach Brendon McCullum would be hoping that the wicket-keeper batter Jonny Bairstow is fit & available for selection. It would be interesting to see whether the management rotates the veteran speedsters James Anderson & Stuart Broad.

Also Read: Ashes 2023: England’s James Anderson Suffers Groin Injury Ahead Of Ashes

I feel like I am a better player than I was 10 years ago – Usman Khawaja

Usman Khawaja was having an interaction with the media. Usman Khawaja stated that Anderson & Broad are unbelievable bowlers and also pointed out that scoring runs against the duo is quite satisfying.

“I feel like I’m a better player than I was 10 years ago. I have more experience than I did back then. But there’s no guarantees, Anderson, Broad, they’re unbelievable bowlers, they’re tough work at the start,” said Usman Khawaja.

IPL 2023 | India National Cricket Team | Chennai Super Kings (CSK) | Delhi Capitals (DC) | Gujarat Titans (GT) | Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) | Lucknow Supergiants (LSG) | Mumbai Indians (MI) | Punjab Kings (PBKS) | Rajasthan Royals (RR) | Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) | SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH)

“I guess the other side is, that’s what makes it so awesome when you do score runs and you contribute to a winning team, which hopefully I’ll do, and others will do over there, when you do it against guys like Broad and Anderson in England, it’s just that much more satisfying,” he added.

Also Read: Ashes 2023: Uncertainty Over Jofra Archer’s Participation In The Ashes Following Exit From IPL 2023 Due To Elbow Injury – Reports

England is the toughest place in the world to bat – Usman Khawaja

Khawaja said that the new selectors George Bailey and Tony Dodemaide along with head coach Andrew McDonald have brought stability in the team and have backed the players. Khawaja made a massive statement that according to him that England is the toughest place to bat in the world and said that scoring runs in England is never easy.

“Over the last 10 years, I think they’ve been very reactive, and the media itself is also reactive. As a cricketer, you’re going to fail one, two or three games, that’s very normal, and then you score runs, and then you’ll fail, and then your score runs. It’s just a cycle of cricket.

“So I’ve always been big on just picking your best players and sticking with them, because they’ll score you the most runs consistently, and I think over the years with selection for Australian cricket, we have chased our tail a little bit, trying to pick players ‘in form’. But form is 100 per cent temporary, class is not,”

“I think the new selectors (George Bailey and Tony Dodemaide), and with Andrew McDonald at the top, they’ve both experienced that too, and they understand that part of the game, hence why there’s a lot more stability, and selecting and picking players and sticking with them, and I’m all for it. I love it,” said Usman Khawaja.

Virat Kohli | Rohit Sharma | Rishabh Pant | KL Rahul | Suryakumar Yadav | Sanju Samson | Shreyas Iyer | Yuzvendra Chahal | Jasprit Bumrah

“England is, in my opinion, the toughest place in the world to bat for a top three batsman, plain and simple. New ball is tough work, but then you get some conditions, and it’s a bit of luck involved in it, too; sometimes you get the other team out, then suddenly the clouds roll over, other times you’re out there and it’s nice and sunny,” he added.

“If I’ve learned anything, it’s work hard, train hard, and, if you’re going to England, go with low expectations, and then just work on every game one at a time, because you are going to fail as a batsman. But when you do score, you try to cash in as much as you can,” he concluded.

Also Read: Ashes 2023: “He Might Go Down The Aggressive Route”- Michael Vaughan Backs Mitchell Marsh As Australia’s Opening Batsman