Ashes star Usman Khawaja gives sweary interview as Sky Sports apologise

Sky Sports were forced to apologise after Usman Khawaja swore in his post-match interview after helping Australia to draw first blood in The Ashes on Tuesday. The 36-year-old produced two incredible knocks over the course of the five days, with his efforts playing a crucial role in shaping England’s narrow defeat by two wickets at Edgbaston.

Khawaja managed 141 runs in Australia’s first innings and contributed another 65 in the second before Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon got the tourists over the line during the final hour of play in spite of England’s best efforts. It was a nervy end to the Test for Khawaja, who used some choice words in admitting to Sky Sports that he was restlessly watching the last few overs through his fingers in the stands.

“I’m not going to lie, I was s****** myself for the last five minutes,” he said. “I watched 2005 as a kid on TV. I was there at Headingley, but this has to be one of my favourite Test matches. I couldn’t watch it with the guys, so I watched it on the delayed vision so I could hear what was going on.

“I think it’s up there [with my best performances] in the context. I’ve never felt like this after a Test. The flow of the game, how England played, there was no one on top until the end, so it’s been awesome.

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“I was a young punk in 2013, and I think Swanny [Graeme Swann] gave me nightmares there, and 2019 was tough unless you were Steve Smith. Four more Tests, we hope they are as good as this.”

Sky Sports went on to issue a quick on-air apology for the language used by Khawaja before speaking to England captain Ben Stokes, who underlined his disappointment at falling just short despite pushing Australia all the way. The 32-year-old performed exceptionally well over the course of the Test but is likely to face some post-match scrutiny for his controversial decision to declare early with England at 393-8 on day one.

“What a game, yet another one that we’ve been a part of,” began Stokes, who stayed true to the aggressive ‘Bazball’ style popularised by England in recent months in spite of Australia’s more traditional approach to proceedings.

“It’s obviously devastating to be on the losing end of that, going down to the wire with the emotions of that whole day… to get to the end there, eight down with 50 to win you’re thinking we’re just one wicket away but you can never count Australia out. Pat has dug in there and got them over the line.

“But in terms of the output of the game and what people have witnessed, that’s what we’re trying to achieve as a team. Everyone would have been on the edge of their seat here and everyone at home will have been glued to their TV, that’s what we want to be remembered as as a team.”

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