Former Australia batter Usman Khawaja has alleged he was racially abused by a Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) member during the Ashes Test at Lord’s in 2023. The incident followed the controversial stumping of England’s Jonny Bairstow by Australia wicketkeeper Alex Carey during the second Test, prompting Khawaja to describe the members as behaving like “a pack of dogs” in his newly released autobiography.
Clashes in the Long Room
Television footage at the time captured Khawaja and teammate David Warner engaging in confrontations with spectators as the Australia team walked off the field for lunch. Following the incident, the MCC expelled one member and suspended two others after finding them guilty of using abusive, offensive, or inappropriate behavior and language. One member received a four-and-a-half-year suspension, while another served a 30-month ban. Khawaja explains that after he told one individual not to shout at him again, another person directed racial abuse at him.
Writing in his book, Khawaja expressed his disappointment with the behavior in the Long Room, stating that the members showed their true colors that day. He noted that players had always spoken highly of the MCC members as gentle and cricket-loving individuals who would applaud players regardless of their score. However, he stated that when the ground needed civility the most, they turned into a pack of privileged drunks barking from a meter away, comparing the scene to a pack of dogs ready to feast.
Khawaja further details that someone was shouting, spitting, and screaming directly in his face, while another member attempted to trip him and Warner as they walked up the stairs. He recalled that after Warner confronted the individual trying to trip them, the person attempted the same action against him as he climbed the stairs. Upon reaching the top, Khawaja encountered a group of members waiting near the changing rooms, prompting him to smile in shock, raise his arms, and ask whether the venue was Lord’s or a zoo.
Autobiography Revelations
In the same autobiography, Khawaja also claimed that the entire Australia team was aware of the use of sandpaper to tamper with the ball during the final Test of their 2018 series against South Africa. The 39-year-old retired from international cricket in January, finishing his career with 6,229 runs across 88 Test matches for Australia.
