Test debutant Jake Weatherald exposed to second-ball duck after Usman Khawaja not allowed to open
They say timing is everything, and Jake Weatherald must have been cursing his bad luck as he clattered to the deck after copping a Jofra Archer rocket to his pads.
Weatherald’s boyhood dream came true on Friday when he strode out to Perth Stadium for the Ashes series opener.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Circumstances behind Usman Khawaja’s absence explained.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.The 31-year-old was loving life on the field as a Mitchell Starc masterclass ripped the heart out of England.
Starc claimed career-best figures of 7-58 off 12.5 overs as England were skittled for 172.
But the speed of England’s implosion — especially late when they lost 5-12 in the space of three overs — caught Usman Khawaja on the hop.
Khawaja’s decision to go off the field for a stint late in England’s innings proved costly.
Given Khawaja had been off the field for more than eight minutes — and hadn’t served that time back on the field before England’s innings came to an end — it meant he couldn’t open.
So instead of having the veteran there for guidance and to front up to the first ball of Australia’s innings — it was left to Weatherald to face the music alongside Marnus Labuschagne.
“It’s pretty hard to understand how Australia can put so much effort into getting this batting lineup right (and have this blunder),” Peter Lalor said on Channel 7.
“Beau Webster has missed out so they can get an established opener up there, get their order in line. And then comes time to open Usman Khawaja can’t do it and it’s a lack of game awareness.
“Late in that innings, we saw Steve Smith gesturing towards that dressing room saying ‘Where is he? He’s got to get out on the field’.
“Now, we’re told he had lower back stiffness, that in itself is a worry in the first day of a test match but it’s the game awareness that’s a real concern.”
Ricky Ponting added: “I agree. We’ve heard different messages already.
“The first time we heard it was a toilet break and that was thirty minutes. So, there’s already different messages coming out of the Australian camp about the reason he was off.
“I agree with you, I saw Steve Smith gesturing toward the dressing room saying, ‘Where is he? We’ve got to get him back on’.
“They took 5/12, didn’t they, in a short period of time and they’ve obviously been caught off-guard which is the last thing that Marnus wanted, the last thing that Jake wanted.
“Jake Weatherald would have forging a relationship with Usman all week to build up and face his first ball in Test cricket. That was all taken away, so hopefully by the end of the day or tomorrow morning, we get the true story of about what actually happened with Khawaja.”
Weatherald hadn’t faced up to the first ball in his past 20 innings in first-class cricket.
Now, the responsibility was all his in the biggest moment of his life.
Weatherald survived Archer’s first ball.
But the second delivery proved disastrous for the debutant, as he clattered to the turf after the ball cannoned into his pads while he attempted a leg-side shot.
England’s appeals for LBW fell on deaf ears, but their decision to review it paid dividends as replays showed the ball would have hit the stumps.
Adding further pain for Australia was the fact that Khawaja still wasn’t eligible to bat when Weatherald departed for a second-ball duck, leaving Steve Smith to come out.
The day was much better for Australia’s other debutant — speedster Brendan Doggett.
The 31-year-old bowled with good pace when he was first introduced in the 10th over, and he struck gold in his second spell when his bouncer to Harry Brook (52 off 61 balls) caught the danger man’s glove.
Australia’s muted appeals were initially turned down, but a convinced Steve Smith decided to review it after hearing Doggett say: “I didn’t hear anything, but it moved.”
Brook, knowing his fate, walked off instead of waiting for DRS to confirm the inevitable.
Amidst England’s late collapse, another rising Doggett delivery struck tail-ender Brydon Carse flush on the helmet.
A rattled Carse departed a few balls later when he lofted Doggett into the deep for an easy catch.
Although Starc rightly deserved the plaudits for his masterclass display, Doggett walked off with the respectable figures of 2-27 in his first taste of Test cricket.
Originally published on 7NEWS Sport
