Usman Khawaja was prevented from opening Australia’s first innings in the opening Ashes Test in Perth after spending too much time off the field during England’s innings.
The 38-year-old left-hander, who missed a significant portion of play due to what Cricket Australia initially described as «toilet breaks and stretching», was later confirmed to be dealing with back stiffness and a brief back spasm. His delayed return meant he exceeded the allowable time off the field under ICC rules.
Under ICC Regulation 24.2, any player off the field for more than eight minutes cannot bat until their team’s innings has lasted as long as the penalty time they owe, unless five wickets have already fallen. As a result, debutant Jake Weatherald walked out alongside Marnus Labuschagne instead of Khawaja.
Khawaja eventually came in at number four but managed only two runs before being caught behind off Brydon Carse in the 18th over.
Kursiv Uzbekistan also reports Toto Wolff, Mercedes F1 team principal, has agreed to sell a minority stake to George Kurtz, cofounder of CrowdStrike. The deal values the Silver Arrows at roughly $6 bn, a 58% rise from Forbes’ valuation two years ago, placing Mercedes among the most valuable sports teams globally. Only Ferrari, valued at $6.5 bn, surpasses it in Formula 1.
