Usman Khawaja: «I can't believe some of the things I heard during the Ashes tour»

Ousman Khawaja heard his teammates being abused by England fans both before and after the match. Credit: AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth

Usman Khawaja, an Australian batsman, says he «can't believe» some of the «bad» taunts he's heard from the crowd during this series of Ashes.

< p>Aussie players are used to being scolded by English fans during the Ashes series — and vice versa, Down Under — but the crowd was particularly vocal on this tour, after Alex Carey's controversial performance over Johnny Bairstow at Lord's.

Khawaja acknowledged that English players are also abused at Down Underder, but cited the example in Edgbaston when fans cross the line .

“I mean they [the English crowds] are rude,” Khawaja said. “But if you talk about it with the guys from England, they will say that we are just as rude [when they go to Australia]. I don't agree with this anyway. I don't think this is correct. Personally, if I go to cricket and watch cricket, I wouldn't want my kids around that. If I saw this, I would 100% write a complaint or just leave.

“I think some things can be pretty bad. Travis Head was called an asshole in Edgbaston, you know what I mean? I kind of can't believe you can actually say that anywhere in the public domain. It can be a bit disappointing at times and I think we can [also] go too far in Australia.

“I'm not a big fan of this. I know that I watch a lot of sports and I love sports that happen all over the world. You watch the NBA, that's where it happens. Especially when the crowd can get very close to you, like in cricket. It is what it is, I don't agree with it. I've been playing all my life, it doesn't bother me. And if that happens, I'll let them know.»

Khawaja also revealed that he personally intervened, which led the International Cricket Council to change its rules regarding penalties for slow overbet players in tests . cricket. On Thursday, the ICC announced that it would reduce penalties for slow overbets, meaning they could now only lose up to 50 percent of their match fee.

Khawaja personally approached Wasim Khan, ICC General Manager whom he met when Khan was in charge of cricket in Pakistan, to complain about the fines levied on players during an Australian tour of England, which resulted in a change.

“I appreciate that the ICC is really listening to the players,” Khawaja said. “I was very upset by what was happening. I just thought someone should find a way to talk to the ICC about this. We played three games and they were three really good games with results, spectacle.

“And we were fined 80 percent of our match fee. That's a lot of money. It's just very frustrating as a player, you give it your all, have fun, and then you get stung for it.

“Vasim accepted the feedback. [Captain] Pat Cummins and [coach] Andrew McDonald talked to him and to his credit, it wasn't just hearings and no action. The action took place within one to two weeks. They returned to us, there was a small compromise. We try to work as quickly as possible.”