Code Sports reports<\/a> Khawaja is a \u201cslight favourite\u201d to hold his spot as opener if he\u2019s passed fit for Friday.<\/p>\nKellaway notches 82 in PM XI contest | 00:54<\/p>\n
Travis Head, who scored a magnificent century as a makeshift opener in Perth, wasn\u2019t willing to go as far as saying he wants the job on Sunday. But he agreed with his captain Pat Cummins that defined batting orders are overrated.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m happy if that is what\u2019s needed to win a Test match. If that is what\u2019s required I\u2019m fine with it,\u201d Head said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith batting orders and Test cricket I am a player who can play any role. I am open to it.\u201d<\/p>\n
He continued: \u201cI agree with Pat. I think you could use this order and these players in a range of different ways. I agree with Pat that they are slightly overrated but the traditionalists will say that is how it has got to be.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s where the game is going. and when do you use that.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA – NOVEMBER 30: Steve Smith is seen with black tape under his eyes during an Australia nets session at The Gabba on November 30, 2025 in Brisbane, Australia. (Photo by Matt Roberts\/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n
SMITH\u2019S NFL TACTIC TO SOLVE PINK-BALL WOES<\/p>\n
Australian acting captain Steve Smith looks set to borrow from American sport for the second Test as he looks to overcome an issue spotting the pink ball.<\/p>\n
Smith, who now lives in New York, was spotted donning strips of eye black during the hosts\u2019 first training session heading into the Gabba day-night contest.<\/p>\n
He batted with the eye black on in the nets having previously explained before a 2024 pink-ball Test he struggles to see the pink ball during daylight.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is always a challenge batting under lights when the ball is new, it is always difficult,\u201d Smith said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI find with the pink ball batting at night is probably easier to see the ball \u2026 in the day I find it more difficult to see.\u201d<\/p>\n
While the TV show Mythbusters is not exactly a peer-reviewed report, one episode found eye black doesn\u2019t reduce glare but does help athletes tell the difference between light and dark, particularly important for tracking objects when it\u2019s bright.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"All eyes are on Usman Khawaja\u2019s fitness as he attempts to hold his place as Test opener –…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":319130,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[564],"tags":[64,63,740,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-319129","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cricket","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-cricket","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/319129","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=319129"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/319129\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/319130"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=319129"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=319129"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=319129"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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