Usman Khawaja's Ashes rant as he hangs onto his spot by a thread

Usman Khawaja has broken his Ashes silence with a bizarre rant after he was spared the axe - for now - but the under-siege Aussie Test opener is no guarantee of playing in Brisbane.

Khawaja suffered back spasms during day one of the first Ashes Test at Optus Stadium in Perth, forcing him off the field for treatment.

He aggravated it again fielding on day two, effectively ruling him out of batting in the second innings as well.

With the Queensland Bulls star turning 39 in December, it has placed him under extreme scrutiny following a run of lean performances. 

While the veteran opener averages 43.56 at Test level and has been a mainstay of the side since his recall in 2022, his form has plummeted off a cliff recently.

The opener averaged 25.9 in 2024, dropping to just 12.6 in a shocking Test series against India last summer, and has gone 11 innings without a half century.

His back injury, and the fact he played in a golf tournament the day before the Perth Test, has left fans calling for the axe to fall on the veteran.

But speaking for the first time since Travis Head and Mitchel Starc put England to the sword to rescue Australia in the first Ashes Test, Khawaja chose to lay into the Perth wicket - which was given the highest possible rating by the ICC. 

'Nineteen wickets on the first day and about 20 people got hit, that's a great wicket - that seems real fair,' Khawaja said sarcastically.

'So day one wicket at [Perth] is a piece of s***, I'm happy to say that. It has been last year, it was this year.

'They do get better. Day two, day three, and then day four, they start to crack up and cure again.

'We know day two, day three is usually the best time to bat. So whenever we play in Perth, it's one of the few places we win the toss and bat first hoping that we can bat again maybe the end of day two and into day three.' 

Cricket Australia named an unchanged 14-man squad for the second Test in Brisbane, meaning skipper Pat Cummins [back] will need to wait until Adelaide to potentially return. 

However that doesn't mean Khawaja is safe. Coach Andrew McDonald could choose to keep Head in the opener position and bring in reserve batsman Josh Inglis in the middle order.

 Inglis recently scored an unbeaten ton against the England Lions XI in a practice match.

Former Test skipper Mark Taylor thinks that could be the way to go. 

'I think they've got a problem already solved for them with Travis Head playing so well,' Taylor said.

'He put his hand up, he wanted to do it, he did a great job and guided Australia to a famous victory. 

'If I was in the selection panel, I'd be saying, 'I'm not changing that. Travis Head is my man'.

'It would be a very difficult decision [to axe Khawaja]. It often is. That's why you have selectors. It is a professional cricket team. 

'At the end of the day, you've got to pick what you believe is the best team for today with an eye to tomorrow. That's why I think I would not be touching it [as it stands].'

Australia is also without pace spearhead Josh Hazlewood [hamstring], with the pace veteran hoping to return towards the end of the series. 

'It's coming along slowly,' Hazlewood said at the SCG on Friday.

'I'll have another bowl today, just started the other day. Running and everything's going well.

'It's probably tough to put a timeline on it. I think 'Ron' [Australian coach Andrew McDonald] probably nailed it the other day - play a part in the back end, hopefully.

'Hopefully it's not still in the balance, hopefully we're on top by then.'