Usman Khawaja hailed an “emotional” first Ashes hundred in England, claiming the innings would “show to everyone that the last ten years hasn’t been a fluke”.
Khawaja made an unbeaten 126 as Australia reached stumps 311 for five on day two of the series opener at Edgbaston, trailing England by 82 runs.
The 36-year-old has tended to struggle in English conditions throughout his career, averaging less than 18 here since first touring for the 2013 Ashes.
He has, however, enjoyed a remarkable run since being recalled to the side at the start of last year, scoring seven centuries, and has now carried that form into this series.
“It was the culmination of three Ashes tours in England and getting dropped in two of them. I don’t read the media but when I’m being sprayed by the crowd out there and as I’m going to the nets that I can’t score runs in England, I guess it was a bit more emotional than normal,” he said.
“I feel like I’m saying this all the time - the same thing happened in India. Not that I have a point to prove but it’s nice to go out and score runs for Australia and show to everyone that the last ten years hasn’t been a fluke.”
Khawaja celebrated reaching his landmark in passionate style, hurling his bat into the Edgbaston sky before embarking partner Alex Carey.
“I’m way more comfortable with being myself nowadays whereas when I was younger I was probably a bit worried about what I might look like,” he added.
“Now what you see is what you get. This is Usman. I don’t try to hide it. I’m not perfect. I make mistakes but I’m happy to show everyone the real me and I think they respect it more and I enjoy it more. I don’t know why the bat throw happened, but it happened and that was me.”
