New Delhi, Nov 29 (IANS) Usman Khawaja is expected to receive a formal notice from Cricket Australia after bluntly labelling the Perth Stadium surface for the first Ashes Test a “piece of s**t” during a charity lunch this week.

According to reports, CA officials were unhappy with the opener’s remarks, which came despite match referee Ranjan Madugalle awarding the wicket a “very good” rating, the highest an ICC official can give.

Madugalle’s assessment followed a match that finished inside two days, noting the surface had “good carry, limited seam movement, and consistent early bounce,” contributing to what he deemed a fair contest between bat and ball.

Khawaja, however, offered a sharply different view. Speaking at the event, he criticised the pitch for its variable bounce, pointing to the rapid fall of wickets on Day 1 and the number of batters struck and adding that even a player of Steve Smith’s calibre struggled to find the middle of the bat due to the up-and-down movement.

“Nineteen wickets on the first day and about 20 people got hit, that’s a great wicket, that seems real fair. Steve Smith’s by far the best cricketer I’ve ever played with, and he’s missing the middle of his bat by a long way – he does not miss the middle of his bat. He’s getting hit in the elbow. Up and down (movement) is the hardest, sideways is a little bit easier, but up and down, your hands can’t catch up. So, day one wicket at (Perth) is a piece of s**t, I’m happy to say that. It has been last year; it was this year,” Khawaja had said at an event for his Usman Khawaja Foundation.

The opener noted that the surface typically improves after opening day, explaining that Days 2 and 3 are usually the best for batting. “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,” the Queenslander added.

Cricket Australia is expected to address the matter formally, with Khawaja’s comments drawing attention not only for their bluntness but for directly contradicting the ICC’s top-tier rating of the wicket.

–IANS

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