Once more: Khawaja hits 2nd ton, England on edge

SYDNEY, January 8

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Usman Khawaja scored his second century of the match to help Australia to 265/6 declared on the fourth day of the fourth Ashes Test today, handing England an unlikely victory target of 388.

England, whose hopes of avoiding going 4-0 down in the series would seem to rest on obdurate batting and the weather, will resume on the final day on 30 without loss after Haseeb Hameed and Zak Crawley survived 11 overs before stumps.

The day again belonged to Khawaja, who returned to Test cricket after two-and-a-half years as a makeshift replacement for Travis Head when the middle-order batsman tested positive for Covid.

The 35-year-old once again oozed class as he re-energised the Australian innings in a 179-run partnership with all-rounder Cameron Green after England had stalled their march towards a second declaration of the match.

Unflappable and stylish, Khawaja added a 101 not out to the 137 he scored in the first innings, punching two runs down the ground to reach the milestone for the 10th time.

Brief scores: England: 294 & 30/0 (Crawley 22*, Hameed 8*); Australia: 416/8 dec & 265/6 dec (Khawaja 101*, Green 74, Leach 4-84). — Reuters