Ashes 2023: Australia opener Usman Khawaja on verge of major milestone ahead of Day 5 of Oval Test

Australia were off to a positive start after being set a steep 384 to win by England on the fourth day of the fifth Test of the 2023 Ashes at The Oval. Openers Usman Khawaja and David Warner brought up their respective half-centuries and stitched an unbroken partnership that was worth 135 before rain once again played spoilsport in what has been a stellar series so far. Both Khawaja and Warner, who were batting on 69 and 58 respectively before the heavens opened up in south London, will be hoping to bring up the three-figure mark on the final day of the 2023 Ashes and lay the foundation for a successful chase. Khawaja, however, will also have his focus set on a major personal milestone after making his way out to the centre on Monday. The southpaw, who became the 21st Australian cricketer to go past 5,000 Test runs on Sunday and also surpassed Zak Crawley to become the leading run-scorer in the current series, needs just seven more runs to become the oldest Australian to score 500 or more runs in an Ashes series since the legendary Don Bradman himself. Bradman had at the age of 39 scored 508 runs during the 1948 ‘Invincibles’ tour — which was also his farewell series in which he was famously bowled for a two-ball duck by Eric Hollies in his final innings at The Oval. Khawaja, who will turn 37 this December, has collected four half-centuries along with a defiant 141 in the series opener at Edgbaston so far. The next six slots in the batting chart though are occupied by Englishmen with Crawley (480) and Joe Root (412) completing the top three and skipper Ben Stokes (405) and Harry Brook (383) sitting at fourth and fifth respectively. Steve Smith and Travis Head sit at the eighth and ninth spots with 319 runs each, Smith sitting occupying the higher position by virtue of having scored a ton. No 3 batter Marnus Labuschagne sits at the 10th spot with 315 runs. He had an equally successful run during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in India earlier this year, in which he scored 180 in Ahmedabad and also collected a couple of half-centuries to finish the leading run-scorer in the four-Test series. Khawaja, who had been dropped from the team after a disappointing run in the 2019 Ashes, in which he batted at the No 3 slot instead of as an opener. He would make a triumphant return to the side in Sydney during the 2021-22 Ashes, scoring a century in both innings while batting in the middle order, and would later be promoted to the top of the order alongside Warner, with whom he would make a successful pairing. Khawaja’s numbers since his return in the New Year’s Test in 2022 read: 2,114 runs at an average of 62.17 with seven centuries and 10 fifties.