ALL kinds of whispers were doing the rounds on the intriguing topic of Ricky Ponting's stand-in. The most eyebrow-raising had Usman Khawaja receiving a one-off Test call-up against Pakistan because a temporary selection of Phillip Hughes might do the young man's head in.
Khawaja, so the whispers went, could enter and depart the Test XI more seamlessly than Hughes while becoming the first Muslim to represent his country.
Supposedly, there was a no-win element to recalling Hughes. If he failed, he would return to the Sheffield Shield with fresh doubts over his long-term future. If he scored a hundred, he would go through the confusion of being squeezed out again, Ashes-style.
Overlooked was the fact it would be cruel to deny Hughes the heady experience of a Boxing Day Test because of whatever uncertainties lay around the corner. Hughes ended up getting the nod despite being dismissed for seven in the first over of day four in the Sheffield Shield match between NSW and Victoria … but he admitted the form of Khawaja and Phil Jaques had him looking over his shoulder.
''There's pressure all the time in this sport we play,'' Hughes said.
''When the media, you guys, get hold of it - someone like Usman Khawaja is scoring centuries this season, he's been fantastic. 'Jaquesy' batted beautifully today. There's always guys scoring runs, and it's great for cricket in Australia.''
The Blues set Victoria 386 runs off 59 overs, and were hurtling towards an outright victory when bad light stopped play. Speedster Mitchell Starc and seamer Grant Lambert were making deep inroads but with the light deteriorating, the spinners had to come on, David Warner bowling leg breaks to the right handers and offies to the lefties.
Warner and fellow tweaker Stephen O'Keefe were still operating when the Vics were offered the light at 5.40pm. The visitors ran for the hills at 5-144 with 21.4 overs left. Victorian opener Chris Rogers, yet again overlooked by the national panel - without being so much as mentioned in Khawaja-style whispers - was unbeaten on 94.
The day belonged to Khawaja and Jaques: 107 and 131 respectively. It was a big moment for Jaques, who has overcome three serious back operations to succeed again at the first-class level. He's gone from barely being able to walk to crunching a century in a Shield game. It's some accomplishment, a testament to his will power, a demonstration of resilience, proof of the expertise of his batsmanship.
Khawaja's mountain of runs this season - 485 runs at an average of 60 - have come so effortlessly. His numbers creep up on the scoreboard. He's made two Sheffield Shield centuries in the past week, and some day down the track, the whispers will be proved right. Just not this day.
