New video shows the moment Usman Khawaja snapped about abuse at Lord’s and told the Aussie security boss to remove the fan’s name so they could be punished
- The debate is still raging over the Ashe incident involving Jonny Bairstow
- The England goalkeeper was stunned by the fans who said it was against Spirit of Cricket
- New vision shows Khawaja being singled out, despite playing no part in the punching
New footage has surfaced showing the Usman Khawaja being singled out repeatedly by Lord’s members before stopping to confront one of them in particular.
The ugly scenes took place during the second Ashes Test at Lord’s, won by Australia by 43 runs.
Members were outraged by Jonny Bairstow’s controversial run-out which was acceptable under the Laws of Cricket but labeled by fans and players as ‘against the spirit of cricket’.
Lord’s is a unique cricket ground where tour players have to walk through the members area to get to their changing rooms. So is the MCC Long Room, where much of the abuse took place.
The members chanted “cheat, cheat, cheat” at the Aussie players, but Khawaja provoked individual abuse on more than one occasion.
Khawaja was singled out for abuse by the members of Lord, despite not being part of the shocking incident that angered them in the first place.
Khawaja stopped, summoned a guard and demanded that he write down members’ names and have them removed
While the poison thrown his way is inaudible, the new footage clearly shows that the opening batsman was targeted by Lord’s members. Khawaja was not involved in the controversial punching.
Alex Carey caused the incident during a Cameron Green over, but none of these players seem to be taking on the same level of abuse as Khawaja.
Sources close to the England Cricket Board have said so The Sydney Morning Heraldspeaking on the condition of anonymity, that the investigations taking place by the MCC do not involve racial abuse.
It remains unclear what was said to the on-form batsman, but it was enough to make him break his stride and confront the member about the incident.
Khawaja appeared furious at something one member said, identified him to a guard and yelled, ‘Make sure you specifically kick him out’.
He then pointed to another man and said, “Me too.”
The Aussie batsman also insisted that security take down their names, while his opening partner David Warner watched.
Bairstow looks stunned as the Aussies plead for the stumping, thinking it was the end of the end and he had a right to leave his fold
Earlier footage showed the members chanting ‘cheat, cheat, cheat’ at the Aussies as they walked through the famous Long Room at the home of cricket
Khawaja did not reveal the specific sleds aimed at him, but said the incident hit him hard.
“Some of the things that came out of the members’ mouths were really disappointing, and I wasn’t about to stand by and accept it,” he said.
“So I’ve only spoken to a few, a few [were] i threw out some pretty big accusations and i just called them on it, and they continued.
“And when they went through I was like ‘well it’s your membership here’ so I just pointed it out to them.”
“But it’s pretty disrespectful, to be honest. I simply expect much better from the members.’
So far, three Lord’s members have been identified and their membership has been suspended while the investigation is carried out.
The incident was inappropriate for the members of Lord’s, who are usually quiet and respectful.
But there are fears of new flare-ups at Headingley ahead of the third Test, with the Leeds crowd having a reputation for being noisier than their counterparts at Lord’s.
Australia go into the third test leading the series 2-0 and security is expected to be stepped up.
The ICC investigation into the incident involving the members of the Lord continues.