The $80 plea to save Usman Khawaja from making a big mistake
Usman Khawaja, don’t throw that old bat away.
That's the message to Khawaja from a Sydney bat repair expert, who claims the much-loved but well-worn blade Khawaja was forced to dispense with during his brilliant 91 for Australia in the third Test against Pakistan can be brought back to life.
And it'll only cost him a mere $80.
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Harry Solomons has been operating Kingsgrove Sports Centre, in Sydney's west, for the past 47 years and is not one to give up on a bat, no matter its condition.
The handle on Khawaja's battered stick finally gave way in Lahore after producing 647 runs at an average of 107.82 in 2022.
The in-form opener reluctantly swapped his loyal DSC bat for a new one and presumably placed the old one in a dressing room bin at Gaddafi Stadium.
But Solomons, who has known Khawaja since he was a child, has implored the Aussie star to bring the bat home so he can nurse it back to full health.
"Unless it is seriously broken and becomes spongey, most bats can be repaired. We can almost make a new bat look new," Solomons told Yahoo Sport Australia
"If the crack goes down the front and to the toe and it breaks, then it’s very hard to repair, but if it's just surface cracks then that's okay. A bat can have up to 30 surface cracks and be repaired.
"We lift up the timber, glue underneath and put it in a vice with some weight on it.
"We then sand it, clean it and put a sleeve over it. An old bat can be made new again.
"Please tell Usman not to throw it away. We'd be happy to have a look at it."
Usman Khawaja didn't want to part ways with bat
Khawaja admitted parting with his trusty wand cut him deeply.
"I didn’t want to let go of it; it was a beautiful bat," Khawaja said.
"The handle went in the first hour of the day but I was like 'it's still good, it’s still good'.
"I don’t like changing it. I scored a lot of runs with it this year all the way from Shield cricket into Test cricket.
"It was one of my faves. It's never nice letting go of a favourite."
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