He later explained to Nine’s broadcasters that he was more disappointed than angry. “Lord’s is one of my favourite places to come,” he said. “There is so much respect shown at Lord’s,particularly in the member’s pavilion and the Long Room,but there wasn’t today.
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“Some of the stuff that was coming out of the members’ mouths was pretty disappointing. I wasn’t just going to stand by and cop it. I just talked to a few of them.
“A few of them were throwing out some pretty big allegations and I just called them up on it. They kept going and kept going.”
This is the third time that Khawaja,the Muslim son of Pakistani immigrants and,according to former Australian captain Ricky Ponting,“probably the nicest man that’s ever walked on the planet”,has copped the worst of England.
During the first Test at Edgbaston,when he was dismissed after a match-winning innings of 141,the foul-mouthed send-off he received from Ollie Robinson was jarringly out of place. Robinson was unapologetic for his actions,saying those who couldn’t handle an earful in an Ashes series,couldn’t handle much.
After the match,Khawaja’s faith became fodder in a broader culture war,when nationalist politician Nigel Farage questioned why the Australians didn’t douse themselves in alcohol in victory. “Once again the Australian cricket team do not celebrate in champagne style because one of the team members is a Muslim,” Farage tweeted. “Are we all to suspend normal life because of the minority?”
On Sunday,it was left to Khawaja,the first Pakistani-born cricketer to play for Australia,to remind members of the world’s most famous and influential cricket club how grown men should behave. The MCC suspended three members and unreservedly apologised to the Australian team.
There is a sad irony in all this.
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It was the testimony of another Pakistani immigrant,former English off-spinner Azeem Rafiq,which led to the establishment of the ICEC. In evidence to a parliamentary committee,Rafiq laid bare the racism he endured while playing for Yorkshire and the club’s refusal to take any action when he raised his concerns.
Rafiq recounted how,when he arrived at the club in 2008,he was called a Paki,an elephant washer,and Raffa the Kaffir. “I lost my career to racism,” he said.
Khawaja’s extraordinary success since being recalled to the Test team,although mostly the product of his hard work and talent,is also reflective of cultural change within the Australian dressing room.
The ICEC recommended an “urgent and radical overhaul of the policies,practices and structures that currently exist in cricket.”
After Sunday’s shameful scenes,it should start with the MCC.
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