Nathan Lyon dragged into Usman Khawaja cricket storm after similar move with wife revealed - nile sport

Cricket fans are questioning why Nathan Lyon isn't facing the same scrutiny as Usman Khawaja after he also attended the Australian Grand Prix with his wife when he technically could have been playing Sheffield Shield last weekend. Khawaja has found himself at the centre of a storm after he 'made himself unavailable' for Queensland's vital clash with South Australia, and then travelled to Melbourne with wife Rachel to attend the Grand Prix.

Cricket Queensland initially said Khawaja wanted to keep himself fresh for a big year of Test cricket and didn't want to take the place of a teammate who'd been playing all year. But it later came to light that he's been battling a hamstring issue, which he said he aggravated while making a century for Queensland in the previous game against Tasmania.

Queensland Cricket's head of elite cricket Joe Dawes made some explosive comments on Wednesday that they didn't think the hamstring issue was enough to prevent him playing, and he was "disappointed" Khawaja chose not to play. “Our medical staff said all the way through he has been available for selection," Dawes told News Corp. “That is my understanding from Cricket Australia staff as well. No hamstring issues as far as we are concerned.

“I go off our medical staff and there is no reason why he could not have played the last game. It’s just disappointing he didn’t play a game for Queensland when he had an opportunity to. I have got a bunch of blokes here that all want to play."

Khawaja has reportedly been left hurt by the comments, and his availability for the final is in extreme doubt. The Sydney Morning Herald reported on Wednesday night that Khawaja initially didn't want to play any of the Shield games that followed his return from Sri Lanka last month, but he decided to make himself available for the Tasmania game to try and help Queensland progress towards the final.

Nathan Lyon dragged into Usman Khawaja controversy

The situation has sparked debate around whether players with Cricket Australia contracts should have any obligation to play state cricket. Under the current system, Khawaja is only contracted to play for CA, but not Queensland.

The only other members of the Test team who have chosen to play Shield cricket in recent weeks are Alex Carey, Sam Konstas, Marnus Labuschagne and Scott Boland, primarily because they don't have IPL commitments coming up. The likes of Pat Cummins, Travis Head and Mitchell Starc are all being kept on ice so they can take part in the lucrative IPL tournament in India, but others like Steve Smith and Lyon don't have much cricket coming up until the World Test Championship final in June.

Smith hasn't received any scrutiny for opting out of playing Shield cricket, and neither has Lyon. The NSW players could have technically played for their state against Tasmania last weekend, with the Blues needing a win to have any chance of making the final.

Lyon was also seen at the Grand Prix at the same time as Khawaja, with wife Emma posting a number of photos on social media. But he's attracted no scrutiny despite being in a similar situation to that of Khawaja.

Marnus Labuschagne goes in to bat for Usman Khawaja

Speaking on Wednesday, Queensland captain Labuschagne said Khawaja was at a “a different stage in his career” and his decision to remain fresh for Australia should be welcomed. “We understand if we want the best out of him he’s going to need to make sure he’s ready to go and he’s fresh so he doesn’t get himself injured,” Labuschagne said.

“He’s obviously a vital player for Australia and a really big asset for the national team, so having Uzzie back for the final it’s almost the perfect result – him having the week off and then being able to come back. And step up in big games which we know he can do, he’s done it many, many times before.”

However Khawaja's availability for the final is now in major doubt, with his relationship with Cricket Queensland appearing to be at an all-time low. Speaking on SEN radio on Wednesday, Cricket Queensland's Deputy Chair Ian Healy suggested CA should have stepped in and made Khawaja play, however they weren't across the situation until it was too late.

"They weren’t aware of Queensland’s concerns with him not playing for Queensland," Healy said. "They wish we would have rung them earlier. It was the last round of the Sheffield Shield to get into the final… I wanted Cricket Australia to feel a little bit of heat for allowing that to happen.”