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<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\nThe book is interesting, in part, because of what it suggests about the complex interface between an Islamic migrant and the secular assumptions of modern Australia. Though he migrated with his family from Pakistan when he was four, Khawaja says he continued to support the Pakistani rather than Australian cricket team until 1999, when he was 13.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
His dual citizenship ensured he \u201creally felt like an outsider my entire cricketing career\u201d. He openly chronicles various run-ins with old Australian players who characterised him as a \u201clazy subcontinent player\u201d, a bad fielder and a poor team man. Ian Chappell, Mark Taylor and Ian Healy come in for some pointed criticism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Khawaja nevertheless accommodated himself to the team ethic of Australia, while preserving his sense of ethical integrity and self-reliance. He cites Muhammad Ali \u2013 who opposed the war in Vietnam, despite the damage this \u201cstance\u201d did to his boxing career \u2013 as a role model.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sandpaper<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Chapter 17, simply entitled \u201cSandpaper\u201d, reveals these tensions at their most acute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Khawaja tries to avoid specific indictments by using a plural pronoun. \u201cI\u2019m going to use the term \u2018we\u2019 throughout this chapter,\u201d he writes, \u201cbecause \u2018we\u2019 are team Australia \u2013 although in this book I\u2019m not speaking on behalf of anyone but myself.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This exposes an obvious contradiction. Khawaja admits collective guilt, while declining to name any particular individual, even though everyone is clearly implicated by what he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There are harsh words here for \u201cthe fast-bowling cartel (as they call themselves)\u201d. In perhaps the most explosive revelation, Khawaja claims team manager Gavin Dovey agreed they should \u201ccop it as a team\u201d, but \u201ctwo guys in the team disagreed\u201d. Khawaja says he \u201cknew who those two guys were\u201d and \u201cit showed me their true colours\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The sandpaper affair itself was something of a storm in a teacup, since all international sides had long been involved with ball tampering of one kind or another. The practice had incurred only minimal sanctions from the International Cricket Council.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As Khawaja notes, the significance of the affair became inflated when the prime minister of the day Malcolm Turnbull, \u201cwho had no idea about cricket\u201d, got involved, saying the affair was a \u201cterrible disgrace\u201d to the nation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Strategic inclusions and exclusions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
It is clearly not true for Khawaja to say: \u201cThis is my story. Unedited.\u201d On the contrary, it is clear the writing has been carefully designed to avoid pointing fingers and to preserve at least the appearance of collective team spirit, even though the cracks under the surface are easy enough to detect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Literary scholar Paul John Eakin calls autobiography a slippery genre, because it seems to offer the prospect of unvarnished truth, but is just as artfully structured as any other narrative, with strategic inclusions and exclusions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sabr follows this model precisely. When Khawaja appeared on ABC\u2019s 7.30 television program earlier this week, he found it difficult to parry Sarah Ferguson\u2019s probing questions about exactly who in the team knew what. He had to resort to simply declining to answer. His publisher promptly \u201cadjusted\u201d his scheduled media appearances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Khawaja is generally smart and media-savvy. He has a degree in aviation from the University of New South Wales and a commercial pilot\u2019s licence. His book discusses his interest in physics. The hypothesis of \u201cstring theory\u201d, that there are \u201cmultiple dimensions [\u2026] layered together around us\u201d, fits neatly with his religious beliefs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A longtime friend of federal treasurer Jim Chalmers, Khawaja describes himself as engaging in a \u201cheated\u201d conversation with prime minister Anthony Albanese about the war in Gaza. But he was shrewd enough to focus his protests on the fate of children there, recognising how everyone would acknowledge they \u201care 100 per cent innocent\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He also points out the \u201chypocrisy\u201d of the International Cricket Council for \u201cpicking and choosing\u201d their bans on political or religious signs \u201con clothing or equipment\u201d, contrasting their tolerance of the Old Testament verses inscribed on Marcus Labuschagne\u2019s bat with their proscription of Khawaja\u2019s peace dove logo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Changing values<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
One of the long-term implications of Khawaja\u2019s career was to introduce a sense of relative values into the Australian cricket world. His success suggested mateship and white nationalism were not the only options available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One of the structural changes in cricket in recent years has been the mingling of professional players from different countries in the Indian Premier League and similar franchise competitions. It may be that the weariness of younger generations toward traditional test cricket is influenced less by diminished attention spans than their impatience with the antiquated paraphernalia of national chauvinism that often surrounds these fixtures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Khawaja reveals that many of his best friends come from outside Australia. He calls the South African cricketer Hashim Amla, another Islamic outsider in his home country, \u201cthe kindest man I have met\u201d. He writes of bantering in Hindi with Indian fast bowler Ishant Sharma. It is not difficult to imagine Khawaja in the future having warmer relationships with some overseas players than with Australian fast bowlers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a recent podcast, journalist Peter Lalor, who is acknowledged in Sabr for publicising Khawaja\u2019s support of the Palestinian cause, compared the \u201coutsider\u201d Khawaja to the late Peter Roebuck, the English cricketer and broadcaster, who also had a troubled relationship to cricket authorities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is noteworthy that some other cricketers who, like Roebuck, achieved double first-class degrees from Cambridge, consorted awkwardly with traditional cricket cultures. Zafar Ansari, who played three test matches for England, retired at the age of 25, saying he was bored with the repetitive nature of the game. Ed Smith, who also played in three international matches, said he never felt entirely at home in the English professional camp, though he fared better as an administrator and selector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Khawaja is a different kind of character, of course. He says his success was driven in part by a fierce determination to triumph over antagonists. \u201cIf there is one thing I love,\u201d he writes, \u201cit\u2019s proving people wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is likely that his status as a fly in the ointment will long outlast the end of his playing career.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n
Paul Giles<\/a>, Professor of English, Institute for Humanities and Social Sciences, Australian Catholic University<\/a><\/em> This article is republished from The Conversation<\/a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Former test cricketer Usman Khawaja\u2019s autobiography Sabr has hit the headlines because of its claim the whole Australian<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":17682,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[69],"class_list":["post-17681","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opinion","tag-cricket"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t