{"id":151104,"date":"2021-10-28T07:36:14","date_gmt":"2021-10-28T07:36:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=151104"},"modified":"2021-10-28T09:59:09","modified_gmt":"2021-10-28T09:59:09","slug":"guns-purple-patch-reaps-another-ton-on-eve-of-ashes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=151104","title":{"rendered":"Gun's 'purple patch' reaps another ton on eve of Ashes"},"content":{"rendered":"

Usman Khawaja<\/a> has made another giant statement in his quest to end his Test exile in the first match of the Ashes<\/a>, peeling off his second Sheffield Shield<\/a> century in as many games.<\/p>\n

After resuming his innings on 63 at the start of day two, Khawaja climbed to 119 from 184 balls to help establish a dominant position for Queensland<\/a> in their clash with Tasmania<\/a> in Townsville.<\/p>\n

Included in the 44-Test batter's knock were 11 fours and four sixes, as the Bulls recorded 6-487 declared.<\/p>\n

The hefty total was also helped by Test first drop Marnus Labuschagne<\/a>'s 136 from 208, as well as impressive innings from former Test batters Matthew Renshaw<\/a> (120 not out from 167) and Joe Burns<\/a> (79 from 188).<\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/strong> The Mole reveals the 12 most in-demand players<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

In other Sheffield Shield news, Test all-rounder Cameron Green<\/a> registered 61 from 94 on day two of Western Australia<\/a>'s game against South Australia<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Former Test batter Shaun Marsh<\/a> has already compiled one ton and two half-century during the 2021-22 domestic season, but the 38-year-old was removed for just 11 runs on day two of Western Australia's fixture.<\/p>\n

And incumbent Test opener Marcus Harris<\/a> has reached stumps on day two of Victoria<\/a>'s game against NSW<\/a> on 41 from 103.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Khawaja's century followed his knock of 174 off 294 against South Australia at Adelaide Oval last week.<\/p>\n

The left-hander hasn't played a Test since the third match of Australia's 2019 Ashes tour of England, in which he was dismissed for eight and 23.<\/p>\n

But his strong form in the Sheffield Shield and the uncertainty surrounding Will Pucovski<\/a> have seen Khawaja re-emerge as a contender for David Warner<\/a>'s opening partner.<\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/strong> Quinton de Kock's act of defiance reportedly aimed at Cricket South Africa<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

"He's too good a batter to not be playing Test cricket," wrote Andrew Wu of The Sydney Morning Herald on Twitter.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Radio host Adam White wrote: "He's playing as well as ever and is clearly in Australia's best-six batters".<\/p>\n

Sports broadcaster Quentin Hull posted: "If Australia want the best-six batters to set up an Ashes series then Usman Khawaja MUST play at The Gabba".<\/p>\n

Sports broadcaster Glenn Mitchell wrote: "Mounting a very strong case for an Ashes call-up".<\/p>\n

And writer Ben Eltham posted: "He's in a purple patch".<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/strong> The next team vying to become an NRL franchise after the Dolphins<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Pucovski, who notched a half-century on his Test debut against India at the SCG in January<\/a>, had loomed as the likely option for Warner's opening partner for the Ashes until he suffered his latest concussion.<\/p>\n

The 23-year-old Victorian was concussed while receiving throw-downs<\/a> earlier this month.<\/p>\n

The first match of the Ashes is scheduled to begin on December 8.<\/p>\n

For a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by<\/em><\/strong> clicking here!<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Usman Khawaja has made another giant statement in his quest to end his Test exile in the first match of the Ashes, peeling off his […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/151104"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=151104"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/151104\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":151106,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/151104\/revisions\/151106"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=151104"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=151104"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=151104"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}