Hitting a century in an Ashes match already put him among a select group of players but Usman Khawaja broke new ground when he showed up to the post-day press conference with his small daughter on his lap.
His opening words were: “She didn’t want to be away from me so…” and that set the tone for a unique media opportunity.
A warning was issued at the start that he did not know how long he would have, given his daughter was with him.
And there was a moment where he had to stop the press conference, put on his ‘dad hat’, and caution his daughter against swiping through the camera on one of the many phones in front of him recording the audio, telling her “you can play on Daddy’s phone later”.
It was a nice moment, capping off a day where he starred with the bat, hitting an unbeaten 126 as Australia fought back against England at Edgbaston.
In celebration when bringing up his century, Khawaja roared, ran around 30 yards and threw his bat in an outpouring of emotion.
“I think it was a combination of three Ashes tours in England and being dropped in two of them,” Khawaja said when asked about how he reacted to his 100.
“I don’t read the media, I genuinely do not read the media but when I’m getting sprayed by the crowd as I’m walking out there today and as I’m going to nets that I can’t score runs in England.
“So I guess it was just a bit more emotional than normal.
“I feel like I’m saying this all the time, same thing happened in India. Not that I have a point to prove but it’s nice to go out there and score runs for Australia and just to show everyone that the last 10 years hasn’t been a fluke.”
Aged 36, Khawaja admitted it could be his last series in England, and makes a comment to life after cricket.
“Her, these young ones keep me young and make me realise that there's a lot to life and a lot of good stuff inshallah after I stop playing cricket.
“That perspective makes it a lot easier for me to go out there and just play and try and enjoy it as much as I can, whether I get a duck or a 100.
“You realise that nothing lasts forever. I'm enjoying this, whether I've got a hundred or not, I would have enjoyed this Test match, I would enjoy this whole series. It is always nice to get a hundred.!
