How Usman became Uzzy

The many moments that made Usman Khawaja more than a score

On the scoresheet he will be Usman, what he became was Uzzy.

His media figure has been one constructed by the binary codes of cricket, the shifting codes of its fan base and value that the man stands by. He’s not ‘shaped the game’ but shaped his way through it through his own values and with style. There have been careful, not so careful and brave media moments. He and the game of cricket have shaped the figure we’ve come to know.

The outgoing of The People’s Champ raised many a smile at his retirement presser and brought platitudes deserving of an 88 test veteran. He soaked up the limelight, thanked his dearest, chipped his detractors and was authentic as ever. Many highlighted the minutes batted at the back end of his career or ‘second coming’ as an opener. Stats to support that he was, in fact, an excellent player were widely published.

However, for Usman, the stats underlay his legacy. He played 88 tests from a possible 153 and was dropped 8 times over 15 years. This presents a player of considerable resilience and one with a unique place in the sporting landscape.

The stats explain the resilience with certainty but fail to describe the making of the figure that is Uzzy.

His background as a Pakistani-Australian and first practicing Muslim in the Australian Cricket Team adds a complexity to these that strike rate and batting average cannot explore.

He leaves cricket with swag and a name many struggled to pronounce at first but how roll out of their mouth with comfortable familiarity.

It’s a name that just feels good to say; Usman. Uz.

Uzzy…

We keep meeting like this…

Cricketing reputations are built on field but in the gaps between them, there’s a chance to get to know our cricketers and for them to build their own brand. Ricky Ponting seemingly put this on hold til retirement. Australia’s captain has said that pressers were an extension of playing and in effect adversarial in nature. Uzzy’s many gaps between his selections allowed him plenty of camera time that offered the public both familiarity and clarity with this emerging figure.

Uz could hold a room and we got to know who he was and what he was about.

We kept being re-introduced to him. He was ever-present in the selection conversation, there-abouts and in the frame; it was an uncomfortable relationship. He didn’t fade out after a stint like many athletes he was in and out more than Kevin Kline.

His cycle was unique in its cadence and repeatable; recalled, play, dropped, discussed.

Uz was a constantly un-constant presence in Australian cricket. A challenge to the systems and codes built over decades. A man of colour in a distinctly monochrome universe.