Usman Khawaja wants Australia to call up player that 'no-one talks about' after South Africa embarrassment

Usman Khawaja has questioned Australia over their continued selection of Marnus Labuschagne - and has called on the selectors to pick an uncapped player instead.

Australia lost the second Test against South Africa by an innings and 31 runs after failing to bat out day five in Gqeberha.

Labuschagne ended up being Australia's third-highest scorer in the second innings, with 39 off 98 balls, but holed out to Marco Jansen at deep mid-wicket late on day four. With nearly two days of the Test rained off, Australia's series-equalling defeat has been placed further under the microscope - and a number of former players want changes to be made.

Khawaja wants former Sheffield Shield team-mate to play for Australia

Speaking ahead of day five, Khawaja told Kayo Sports (via FOX) that Labuschagne broke a golden rule that he had set throughout his international career by hitting into the wind against Simon Harmer's spin in the second innings.

"I see a lot of other people frustrated because he's been three years without scoring a hundred - 47 innings," Khawaja said. "Even myself being dropped eight times, like, you never got leeway for that long. So the question is: 'What is the reason for the leeway?'

"And we haven't really got a concrete reason from Andrew McDonald and the selectors of what they're feeling.

"We talked about the context of low-scoring games being really important and how they fit in there. He actually has done it. It was a couple of years ago in New Zealand, I remember he got 90. He made it really well. But then we've had some good wickets after that point, and he hasn't scored runs on those good wickets."

Khawaja then turned his attention to the Sheffield Shield, and named his now former Queensland team-mate Jack Clayton as an option to slot into Australia's middle order.

"They talked about, 'If we drop Marnus, who do we have to pick back in this team?'" he recalled. "But we've got plenty of players in Sheffield Shield cricket who are very good players ... Jack Clayton. He's a young guy that I played with. He's scored six centuries, averaging 38, and no-one talks about him.

"He's played 42 games now. So the narrative when people are saying, 'Oh yeah, but you know'. When they devalue Sheffield Shield cricket, it frustrates me. Because I'm like, 'Okay, if Marnus is good enough to play for Australia with that Sheffield Shield record, why can't any of these guys play?'"

Who is Jack Clayton?

Clayton was not the only name Khawaja mentioned as players who scored similar to Labuschagne (who has an average of 38) in domestic cricket, with Marcus Harris, Cameron Bancroft and Peter Handscomb all listed. He also tipped Kurtis Patterson for a potential call-up.

But Clayton could be an intriguing option for the selectors to consider. A left-hand middle-order batter, the 27-year-old has compiled six centuries and 14 half-centuries across 42 Sheffield Shield matches.

He has kicked off the new Shield season with scores of 82, 4, 66 and 37 not out while batting at number four in the Queensland line-up.

Khawaja, who retired from international cricket at the end of the 2025/26 Ashes series, continued playing in the Sheffield Shield before calling time on his first-class earlier earlier this year and played alongside Clayton on a number of occasions for Queensland.

Clayton was Queensland's leading run scorer during the 2023/24 season, and his form prompted the state's management to move Khawaja from his usual number four spot when he was available to play in the following season.

"I think they've [Clayton and Patterson] got a higher ceiling at this stage of their careers than some of the others on that list," former Australian spinner Kerry O'Keeffe said on the same panel. "And I think they'll enter calculations back in Australia."

Whether Patterson beats him to the call-up remains to be seen. The fellow left-hander hit 122 in New South Wales' win over Queensland earlier this month and, at 33, has played 122 first-class games in his career.

A call-up would also represent his second opportunity at Test cricket - with his first having been somewhat unusual. He scored 30 in the only innings of his Test debut against Sri Lanka in Brisbane, and then 114 not out in his only innings in the next Test in Canberra. That was in 2019; he hasn't represented Australia in any format since.