During the fifth Ashes Test of the 2025–26 series on Thursday, Usman Khawaja batted for the last time in international cricket, creating one of the most poignant scenes at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
Australia aimed to finish strongly even though they had already won the Ashes going into the Sydney Test. They went into the final game with a 3-1 lead after dominating the series. Khawaja’s final act was decided to take place at the SCG, where he made his Test debut in 2011 and brought his career back to life with twin hundreds in 2022. Even before he took guard, Khawaja acknowledged that the feelings were intense.
His innings was brief, though, as Khawaja tried to hit a short delivery outside off against Josh Tongue. As he stepped back, the ball returned, gained an inside edge, and smashed into the stumps, resulting in a mere six runs.
As the SCG stood cheering, Khawaja took off his helmet and started the arduous journey back to the pavilion.
He blew a flying kiss, bent down to kiss the turf, and waved his bat to every inch of the earth. His wife was clearly crying in the stands. One of the first people to shake his hand and offer congratulations for his contribution was Joe Root.
View the video below:
Thanks, Uzzy ❤️ #Ashes pic.twitter.com/h9HPM4arJy
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) January 8, 2026
Earlier, the entire SCG got up to cheer for the southpaw as he walked out to the middle for Australia’s fourth-innings chase. In recognition of his career, England’s players and umpires formed a guard of honour, and Marnus Labuschagne gave him a hug. Australia, meanwhile, finished the chase and won the Sydney Test by five wickets, completing the Ashes series 4-1. Notably, pacer Mitchell Starc won Player of the Series, and Travis Head was named Player of the Match.
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