Usman Khawaja opts out of Shield fixture with final berth on the line

Australia Test opener Usman Khawaja has opted not to play for Queensland in the upcoming Sheffield Shield match against South Australia where a win could hand them a spot in the final, but he could be available for the decider if they get there.

Khawaja was not named in Queensland’s 14-man squad after informing Queensland’s selectors that he was unavailable. Queensland Cricket were accepting of Khawaja’s decision with captain Marnus Labuschagne returning to the lead the side being away with Australia’s ODI team at the Champions Trophy.

Khawaja isn’t the only Cricket Australia contracted player missing with Xavier Bartlett also unavailable for the remainder of the season as he heads off to play in the IPL for Punjab Kings. Travis Head, Jake Fraser-McGurk and Spencer Johnson are all unavailable for South Australia for the remainder of the season as they are IPL bound but Alex Carey has been named to play against Queensland and will available for the Shield final.

However, Khawaja’s absence is an odd one given he is fully fit and produced match-winning scores of 127 and 33 not out in Queensland’s win over Tasmania to put the Bulls back in contention for the final, as they sit second on the table just 1.41 points ahead of New South Wales. Khawaja has opted to fly from Brisbane to Melbourne to spend the weekend watching the Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix instead of playing the Shield game at Karen Rolton Oval.

The 38-year-old has managed his scheduled carefully in recent years, valuing rest over playing a lot of back-to-back games in order to remain mentally and physically fresh for his Test commitments as he attempts to extend his career as long as possible. That management plan has been supported by Cricket Australia and Queensland Cricket.

He missed one of Queensland’s first four Shield games to freshen up ahead of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and understandably missed the Shield game against Western Australia that started nine days after the tour of Sri Lanka where he scored a career-best 232 not out in the first Test. Khawaja wasn’t the only Test player to miss that round but Beau Webster did play for Tasmania, having played the three most recent Tests for Australia.

Khawaja has already played 11 first-class matches this summer including seven Tests, which is already more games and days than any Australian domestic red-ball only batter would play in a Shield summer in total. He has also already captained Queensland to a Shield title back in 2021. However, Khawaja is likely to have all of April and May to rest after the Shield season finishes in the final week of March before preparing for four Tests in June and July which include the WTC final and a three-Test tour of the Caribbean. He won’t have any international commitments thereafter until the Ashes begin in late November.

Meanwhile, Khawaja’s Queensland team-mates travelled to Adelaide early to get an extra day of training in on Thursday ahead of the match starting on Saturday as the squad could not train all week due to the heavy rain that followed Cyclone Alfred.

South Australia have rested quick Brendan Doggett for the Queensland clash ahead of the final but Nathan McAndrew returns after he was rested from the win over Victoria last week.

Elsewhere, Australia Test quick Scott Boland has been ruled out of Victoria’s must-win match against WA at the WACA ground. Boland suffered some knee soreness in the aftermath of the loss to South Australia and if Victoria are unable to qualify for the Shield final he is set for an extended period of rest before beginning a lengthy build-up towards the WTC final that will feature some bowling in Melbourne and up-to three training camps in Brisbane.

Victoria captain Will Sutherland returns after being rested from the loss against South Australia and Peter Siddle has also been included in the 13-man squad. Victoria have also called up former WA quick David Moody after some strong performances for Victoria’s second XI.

New South Wales have named Australia Champions Trophy players Sean Abbott, Ben Dwarshuis and Tanveer Sangha for their day-night pink ball clash with Tasmania at Ninja Stadium (Bellerive Oval) in Hobart. A win and significant bonus points could be enough to get NSW into the final ahead of Queensland even if Queensland beat South Australia.

Queensland squad vs South Australia: Marnus Labuschagne (c), Jack Clayton, Lachlan Hearne, Angus Lovell, Ben McDermott, Michael Neser, Jimmy Peirson, Matthew Renshaw, Jackson Sinfield, Mark Steketee, Tom Straker, Mitchell Swepson, Callum Vidler, Jack Wildermuth

South Australia squad vs Queensland: Nathan McSweeney (c), Jordan Buckingham, Alex Carey, Henry Hunt, Jake Lehmann, Ben Manenti, Nathan McAndrew, Conor McInerney, Lloyd Pope, Jason Sangha, Liam Scott, Henry Thornton

Victoria squad vs Western Australia: Will Sutherland (c), Scott Boland, ⁠Harry Dixon, Peter Handscomb, Sam Harper, Marcus Harris, Campbell Kellaway, Blake MacDonald, David Moody, Todd Murphy, Fergus ⁠O’Neill, Oliver Peake, Peter Siddle

New South Wales squad vs Tasmania: Sean Abbott, Jackson Bird, Ollie Davies, Ben Dwarshuis, Jack Edwards (c), Matthew Gilkes, Chris Green, Liam Hatcher, Sam Konstas, Blake Nikitaras, Kurtis Patterson, Josh Philippe, Tanveer Sangha

Alex Malcolm is an associate editor at ESPNcricinfo

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