Usman Khawaja, an Australian batsman, has expressed his view that England is the most challenging place for top-order batsmen to play cricket, and he anticipates a difficult time in the upcoming Ashes series due to his prior struggles on previous tours. Khawaja has a batting average of 19.66 from six Tests played in England, which is less than half of his career average of 47.81. He was also dropped after featuring in three matches during the 2019 Ashes, which Australia drew 2-2 to retain the urn.

According to Khawaja, “England is unequivocally the toughest place in the world for a top-three batsman to bat.” He cited the demanding nature of facing the new ball and unpredictable weather conditions that can affect the outcome of the game. Luck is also a significant factor that comes into play when batting in England, Khawaja noted in his statements to the Australian media.

The Australian batsman Usman Khawaja emphasized the importance of working hard and training diligently, especially if one is preparing to play cricket in England. He advised having low expectations and focusing on each game one at a time because failure is a common experience for batsmen in England. However, when a batsman does manage to score, Khawaja suggested capitalizing on the opportunity as much as possible.

Khawaja was not the only player to struggle for runs during the 2019 Ashes series, with fellow opener David Warner recording the worst-ever average by an opener to play ten innings in a series, averaging just 9.50. Khawaja himself was dropped after the Leeds Test in 2019 and only recalled for the fourth Test during the last Ashes series played in Australia in 2021-22, which Australia won 4-0.
Khawaja impressed in that Sydney match, scoring twin centuries while batting at number five, and has since been a regular fixture in the Australian Test lineup. He believes that he has improved as a player over the past decade but acknowledges that facing bowlers such as James Anderson and Stuart Broad in England will always be a challenging prospect.