Usman Khawaja, a seasoned left-handed opener who scored 195 runs in the drawn Sydney Test match against South Africa and was named Player of the Match, stressed the need of putting the team first.
Khawaja made his comments after Pat Cummins, the Australia captain, declared the first innings score at 475/4, leaving Khawaja stranded at 195, five runs short of what would have been his first double century in Test cricket.
The decision drew analogies to the Sachin Tendulkar-Rahul Dravid controversy from the Multan Test in 2004, when the then-skipper Dravid had declared, leaving Tendulkar stranded on 194 and six runs short of a renowned double century on Pakistani territory.
"I would love to have a double ton next to my name but at the end of the day it's a great way to showcase cricket and what cricket stands for. You want to go out there and you want to make milestones and achieve certain goals but at the end of the day it's about winning and you've got to do what's best."
"I think any children watching out there, or anyone watching how Australia plays their sport, it's always team first and I think that's very important when you are playing a team game," said Khawaja in the post-match presentation ceremony.
Khawaja maintained his run-scoring spree in Sydney as a result of the knock after scoring two centuries in the Ashes Test last year. "Right now, I'm just basking in the good times. You must have options against spin because (the SCG) has the potential to be a sluggish, grinding pitch. It's not complicated; if you bat well and consistently over a long period of time, you'll usually succeed there."
When the SCG, his home ground, hosts a Test match the following year, his opening partner David Warner, who was voted Player of the Series in the 2-0 series victory over South Africa for his 213 runs in three matches, longed for better weather in Sydney.