Steven Smith has never forgotten the first time he faced Usman Khawaja. “I remember playing against him in a couple of Under-17 versus Under-19 games for New South Wales and watching him bat,” Smith said. “The way he pulled the ball, I was like, this guy picks length up quicker than anyone I’ve seen. He was pulling balls off the top of the stumps. I feel like throughout his career, he’s been batting his best when he’s been doing that as well. And just his progression over a long period of time has been outstanding.”
That progression will be celebrated – and concluded – at the SCG this week when Khawaja plays his final Test in the Ashes decider. The 39-year-old opener confirmed his retirement on Friday, telling reporters, “Hope I have inspired many”, as he prepared to walk away after 72 caps.
Khawaja’s departure signals the first major change in an ageing Australian side, yet Smith is convinced the coming transition can be handled smoothly. Australia could play as many as 21 Tests in the next 11 months, a schedule that includes tours of Sri Lanka, South Africa and India before the side tries to reach another World Test Championship final ahead of the 2027 Ashes in England. That stretch, he believes, will require experience and stability.
Smith and Khawaja came through the same New South Wales pathways and debuted at Test level within months of each other – Khawaja against England in Sydney in early 2011, Smith a little earlier against Pakistan at Lord’s. The pair know each other well, yet their relationship was tested when Smith, as captain, left Khawaja out of back-to-back tours of the subcontinent.
“He hates it, but we dropped him,” Smith recalled. “I was captain at that stage and we dropped him in the subcontinent. We didn’t think he was playing the spinners as well as he does now. But he got that opportunity to go back and figure out ways to play. Whether he would have done that had he kept playing, I’m not sure. But he went back and found some different methods to defend spin. He was reversing, sweeping, and that’s a mode of defence in a way when you put the field out.”
Before that spell on the sidelines, Khawaja had averaged 14.62 from five Tests in Asia. Since returning, his numbers read 1,490 runs at 82.77 in 13 innings – a transformation he attributes to hours of work against spin, including the controversial reverse sweep that is now a staple of his game.
“He’s arguably one of our best players of spin now. So maybe [it was] a blessing in disguise,” Smith noted. “But the way he’s been able to play over his 15-year career… it’s a credit to him and not too many people get to go out on their own terms.”
Those terms include a final Ashes fixture on his home ground. Khawaja will depart as Australia’s leading run-scorer in the current series and one of only four Australians to average more than 50 after 70 Tests. He insists his mind is clear, stressing the decision was his alone. “I’ve played long enough,” he said. “There’s plenty of young talent waiting.”
Khawaja also used his farewell press conference to highlight how he felt “treated differently” at times in Australian cricket because of his background, comments that reignited debate over the sport’s cultural landscape. Smith declined to wade into that discussion, saying only that any criticism of Khawaja’s lead-up to the first Test in Perth – the opener had complained about limited net time on a spicy pitch – “was unfair”.
Former Australia coach Darren Lehmann agrees. “Usman’s always done things his own way,” Lehmann told ABC radio. “If he feels preparation wasn’t quite right in Perth, he’s entitled to say so. The scoreboard shows he tends to know what he’s talking about.”
The task now is replacing Khawaja. Western Australia’s Cameron Bancroft and the uncapped Bryce Street have been mentioned, though selectors will wait until end-of-season Sheffield Shield numbers are in. Smith suggests the side can’t afford a prolonged bedding-in period. “That calendar is brutal,” he said of the 2026-27 workload. “Whoever steps in needs to be ready straight away.”
Even as focus shifts, the SCG Test is primarily a celebration. Smith summed up the prevailing mood. “He’s arguably one of our best players of spin now. So maybe [it was] a blessing in disguise. But the way he’s been able to play over his 15-year career… it’s a credit to him and not too many people get to go out on their own terms.”
For Khawaja, those terms have arrived. Australia hope his final act is a match-winning one; regardless, the left-hander departs as a player who proved, in the end, that time, patience and plenty of reverse sweeps can rewrite a legacy.
