No end date at Test level for spin-confident Khawaja

Usman Khawaja insists he currently sees no end point to his Test career, declaring himself ready for Australia's upcoming Indian tour by suggesting he is playing spin better than ever.

Khawaja's unbeaten 195, which he was unable to resume on a rained-out day three of the Sydney Test, saw him snap a 16-innings run without a first-class century, dating back to the tour of Pakistan where he was named player of the series.

It was hardly a form slump for Australia's leading Test run-scorer in 2022, who had passed fifty in almost half of those knocks, but the left-hander admitted he fought a "personal battle" to convert this latest start into a big score.

"I've played some really good cricket this (season) and just haven’t cracked the hundred," Khawaja told reporters. "To get that reward, it was a nice feeling because I felt like I was doing all the right things but just not getting the rewards."

David Warner has said during this Test neither he nor his opening partner, both of whom turn 37 later this year, want to leave the Test team with a "big hole" by retiring at the same time.

"We always talk about games played and how much that means into a team's performance, and perspective with experience. You can't fill that void," Warner told Fox Cricket.

Selectors have previously conceded having two opening batters of advancing age is far from ideal, with Marcus Harris and Matthew Renshaw in the frame to succeed them.

But Khawaja is adamant he can continue on for a while yet, suggesting his absences from the side for long periods of his career and his status as a Test-only player has him feeling fresh.

"I haven't been in the grind as long as Davey Warner, Steven Smith," said the 36-year-old, who is averaging nearly 80 with the bat since his recall for last year's SCG Test.

"I played all forms for a little while for a three-year period and that was tough work, and I didn't have a family (at the time) like Davey did. Him and Smudger have been doing it for 10 years now.

"It takes a toll mentally, physically it takes a toll too.

"I never like to look too far ahead … you don't want to get too far ahead of yourself in this game.

"I'm enjoying myself, my body feels great, I'm still, touch wood, performing and doing well for the team. If those things continue to happen, I don't really have a timeline to be honest."

Khawaja has twice gone to India with the Test side, in 2013 and 2017, but was overlooked on both trips. He was dropped mid-tour on the first three subcontinental Test series he played in.

The perception he was susceptible to spin shifted when he dominated a 2018 tour of the UAE against Pakistan in the absence of Smith and Warner, while he then averaged over 100 in nine innings in Pakistan and Sri Lanka last year.

His sweep and reverse-sweep shots have been a major factor in his success there though, in Sydney, he has judiciously eschewed those strokes against Simon Harmer and Keshav Maharaj.

Khawaja now looms as a key component of Australia's aim of winning a first Test series in India since 2004 when they contest the Border Gavaskar Trophy series beginning next month.

Asked how he is playing against spin, Khawaja bluntly said: "As well as I've ever been.

"That's why I scored runs on the subcontinent," he continued. "I was player of the series last time I went on a one-day tour there in 2018.

"(I’ve) obviously done well in Test cricket recently in spinning conditions, I scored a hundred over there in an India A series, in Bangalore.

"For me, it's more about the process. I've got my options and I'll continue to use them and play them in the best method I think is possible.

"There is no guarantee in cricket, I could get eight ducks in a row.

"But I know the process that works for me, I know the different conditions, I know how I like to play. That's what I'll be doing, nothing really changes too much."

Men's NRMA Insurance Test Series v South Africa

First Test: Australia won by six wickets

Second Test: Australia won by an innings and 182 runs

Jan 4-8: Third Test, SCG, 10.30am AEDT

Australia squad: Pat Cummins (c), Ashton Agar, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Lance Morris, Nathan Lyon, Matthew Renshaw, Steve Smith, David Warner

South Africa squad: Dean Elgar (c), Temba Bavuma, Gerald Coetzee, Theunis de Bruyn, Sarel Eree, Simon Harmer, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Heinrich Klaasen, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Kagiso Rabada, Rassie van der Dussen, Kyle Verreynne, Lizaad Williams, Khaya Zondo

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