Australia opener Usman Khawaja was forced to remove the dove logo from his bat early on the third day of the first Test against New Zealand at Wellington Basin Reserve. The incident occurred in the opening session of the day when Khawaja struck with the bat shortly after Australia resumed their second innings with a score of 13-2.
The incident happened in the 19th over of Australia’s second innings when the 37-year-old opener signaled to change the bat. Substitute Matthew Renshaw burst into the ground and suggested several options. Khawaja tested several bats before settling on one, but soon needed to remove a human rights sticker with a dove holding an olive branch on it.
In early December, during Australia’s home series against Pakistan, the International Cricket Council (ICC) rejected his application to display a dove logo on his bat during the Boxing Day Test to raise awareness of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. This comes after the apex body accused the Australian of breaching kit regulations by wearing a black armband in the series opener, although Khawaja later clarified it was due to “personal bereavement”.
Khawaja later accused the ICC of double standards through a social media post for rejecting his request for the dove logo. “Merry Christmas everyone. Sometimes you just have to laugh. CYA on Boxing Day!” he wrote, adding the tags of “inconsistency” and “double standards.”
Despite his dispute with the ICC, Khawaja has received support from Cricket Australia chief executive Nick Hockley and Australia captain Pat Cummins.
Hockley explained last December: “The symbol of the dove is a universally recognized symbol of peace. That being said, the ICC has set its own rules and feels they have explained their rationale very clearly and we respect that. .What have we really accomplished?” To be clear, we support Uzzie and all of our players in truly sharing their beliefs through their own channels. “
Khawaja was dismissed for 28 on Day 3 morning when he burst out of Glenn Phillips’ crease and was tripped by wicketkeeper Tom Blundell. The part-time spinner then took his maiden five-wicket haul as Australia were bowled out for 164 in their second innings, setting a mammoth target of 369 for New Zealand.
