[Watch] Fresh footage emerges of Usman Khawaja being abused by MCC members during Day 5 of the Lord's Test
Australian opener Usman Khawaja was repeatedly targeted in the long room by MCC members during the lunch break on Day 5 of the second Test at Lord's. While that has already been a matter of substantial controversy, new footage has now come to the fore, showing Khawaja repeatedly being singled out by the members.
Several Australian players were reportedly abused verbally and even physically contacted by the MCC members while walking to the dressing room during the lunch interval. The new footage was recorded on a mobile and sent to the Sydney Morning Herald, showcasing how Usman Khawaja was the primary target.
The southpaw appeared furious with something a couple of members said to him, and asked the security personnel to eject them.
Here is the video of the new footage that has emerged:
The incident was in the aftermath of Australia's controversial stumping of England wicket-keeper Jonny Bairstow at the stroke of lunch.
Cricket Australia (CA) have confirmed that they have pleaded their case with the MCC to investigate the numerous incidents involving fans in the members' area.
“It is alleged players and staff from the Australian team were verbally abused, with some being physically contacted as they made their way to lunch through the members area,” CA said in a statement.
After the match, Khawaja did not mince words when speaking to Channel Nine about the incident.
"It was really disappointing. Some of the stuff that was coming out of the members’ mouths was really disappointing. I wasn’t just going to stand by and cop it, so 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.It was pretty disrespectful to be honest. I was expecting a lot better from the members," said Khawaja.
During the second session, the MCC immediately released a statement to the Australian team, expressing regret over the incident.
"The Long Room is unique in world cricket and the great privilege of players passing through the Pavilion is very special. After this morning’s play, emotions were running high, and words were unfortunately exchanged with some of the Australian team, by a small number of members," MCC said.
They added:
"We have unreservedly apologised to the Australian team and will deal with any member who has not maintained the standard we expect through our disciplinary processes. It was not necessary to eject anyone from the ground and we are pleased to say that there was no repeat of this as the players resumed the field for this afternoon’s session."
Despite the ugly scenes, the visitors remained focused on the task at hand and emerged victorious in the post-lunch session by 43 runs to take a 2-0 lead in the Ashes series.
Meanwhile, both teams have announced their respective squads for the third Test. The action kicks off at Headingley, starting Thursday, July 6.
Squads for the 3rd Ashes Test
England squad: Ben Stokes (captain), Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Jonny Bairstow, Stuart Broad, Harry Brook, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Dan Lawrence, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Joe Root, Josh Tongue, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood.
Australia squad: Pat Cummins (captain), Steve Smith (vice-captain), Scott Boland, Alex Carey (wk), Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis (wk), Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitch Marsh, Todd Murphy, Michael Neser, Jimmy Peirson (wk), Mitchell Starc, David Warner