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1910
International Rep
- Apr 14, 2013
- 15,876
- 20,085
The my FootDR Queensland Bulls will welcome a new leader for 2015-16 with top order batsman Usman Khawaja announced today as captain.
Khawaja, currently on tour in India as captain of Australia ‘A’, was confirmed as the new skipper by the Board of Queensland Cricket on Tuesday night and informed of the decision in the aftermath of his player-of-the-match effort in the opening triangular one-day series against South Africa ‘A’ in Chennai on Wednesday.
Queensland Cricket Chairman Jim Holding said the Board had enthusiastically endorsed the unanimous recommendation of the Queensland Selection Panel that Khawaja should take on the Bulls leadership role for the first time.
“Usman has shown his class and ability on numerous occasions on the field since moving to Queensland a few seasons ago, but he has also demonstrated his maturity and vision to many of us away from the playing arena,’’ he said.
“He is an impressive thinker about the game and we feel that he commands the respect of the group through his words and deeds.”
“The Board believes Usman will complement the dedication and expertise of Queensland coach Phil Jaques, who has impressed everyone with his hard work, attention to detail and willingness to provide the ideal environment for the playing group and coaching staff to excel,’’ Holding said.
“We congratulate Usman on his appointment and look forward to him returning from the Australia ‘A’ tour to prepare for the coming season for Queensland,’’ he said.
The 28-year-old left-hander will take over the reins from allrounder James Hopes, who stepped down from the role at the end of last season.
Khawaja paid tribute to his predecessor today and thanked him for his efforts for Queensland.
“Hopesy has been a legend for Queensland and I’m pleased he is playing on,’’ he said. “One of the things I will be looking forward to this summer is walking out with him when he plays his 100[SUP]th[/SUP] game for the Bulls this season as I know how much he has devoted to the game here.’’
“I’m greatly honoured to be appointed Queensland captain, as I know how much the Bulls mean to the fans around the State. I will be out to do my best to continue to work with the rest of the players to make us successful,’’ he said.
“We have a lot of guys in the squad who are poised to make a big impact in Australian cricket and one of our collective goals will be to work hard to ensure we are ready when opportunities arise.”
“It’s going to be exciting getting back to Brisbane to catch up with ‘Jaquesy’ and the rest of the boys and put our plans into action when the season starts,” he said.
Originally from NSW where he made his first class debut in 2008, Khawaja shifted to Queensland for the 2012-13 season, subsequently representing Australia at Test level and making his One Day International debut.
Khawaja, who made his Test debut in Sydney in 2011, has played nine Tests and three ODIs so far in his career.
In first class cricket, he has now played 89 matches, scoring 5558 runs with a highest score of 214.
He has played 16 first class matches for the Bulls, scoring 1044 runs at 43.50, and 19 one-day games, producing 1206 runs at 67.00 including three centuries and eight half centuries.
Injury forced him to miss the second half of last season but he has successfully fought back from a knee reconstruction following a training accident while preparing for the KFC T20 Big Bash League with the Sydney Thunder in December.
Khawaja will join the Bulls pre-season later this month following the Australia ‘A’ tour, with Queensland’s first course of action being the Matador BBQs One Day Cup campaign in Sydney in October.
“We’ve had a reasonable record in the past two one-day tournaments so we should approach things with a degree of confidence,’’ he said.
A qualified commercial pilot, Khawaja will be the first player from the Valley club to captain Queensland since Matthew Hayden took on the job for four games during the reigns of Stuart Law and Jimmy Maher.
Khawaja, currently on tour in India as captain of Australia ‘A’, was confirmed as the new skipper by the Board of Queensland Cricket on Tuesday night and informed of the decision in the aftermath of his player-of-the-match effort in the opening triangular one-day series against South Africa ‘A’ in Chennai on Wednesday.
Queensland Cricket Chairman Jim Holding said the Board had enthusiastically endorsed the unanimous recommendation of the Queensland Selection Panel that Khawaja should take on the Bulls leadership role for the first time.
“Usman has shown his class and ability on numerous occasions on the field since moving to Queensland a few seasons ago, but he has also demonstrated his maturity and vision to many of us away from the playing arena,’’ he said.
“He is an impressive thinker about the game and we feel that he commands the respect of the group through his words and deeds.”
“The Board believes Usman will complement the dedication and expertise of Queensland coach Phil Jaques, who has impressed everyone with his hard work, attention to detail and willingness to provide the ideal environment for the playing group and coaching staff to excel,’’ Holding said.
“We congratulate Usman on his appointment and look forward to him returning from the Australia ‘A’ tour to prepare for the coming season for Queensland,’’ he said.
The 28-year-old left-hander will take over the reins from allrounder James Hopes, who stepped down from the role at the end of last season.
Khawaja paid tribute to his predecessor today and thanked him for his efforts for Queensland.
“Hopesy has been a legend for Queensland and I’m pleased he is playing on,’’ he said. “One of the things I will be looking forward to this summer is walking out with him when he plays his 100[SUP]th[/SUP] game for the Bulls this season as I know how much he has devoted to the game here.’’
“I’m greatly honoured to be appointed Queensland captain, as I know how much the Bulls mean to the fans around the State. I will be out to do my best to continue to work with the rest of the players to make us successful,’’ he said.
“We have a lot of guys in the squad who are poised to make a big impact in Australian cricket and one of our collective goals will be to work hard to ensure we are ready when opportunities arise.”
“It’s going to be exciting getting back to Brisbane to catch up with ‘Jaquesy’ and the rest of the boys and put our plans into action when the season starts,” he said.
Originally from NSW where he made his first class debut in 2008, Khawaja shifted to Queensland for the 2012-13 season, subsequently representing Australia at Test level and making his One Day International debut.
Khawaja, who made his Test debut in Sydney in 2011, has played nine Tests and three ODIs so far in his career.
In first class cricket, he has now played 89 matches, scoring 5558 runs with a highest score of 214.
He has played 16 first class matches for the Bulls, scoring 1044 runs at 43.50, and 19 one-day games, producing 1206 runs at 67.00 including three centuries and eight half centuries.
Injury forced him to miss the second half of last season but he has successfully fought back from a knee reconstruction following a training accident while preparing for the KFC T20 Big Bash League with the Sydney Thunder in December.
Khawaja will join the Bulls pre-season later this month following the Australia ‘A’ tour, with Queensland’s first course of action being the Matador BBQs One Day Cup campaign in Sydney in October.
“We’ve had a reasonable record in the past two one-day tournaments so we should approach things with a degree of confidence,’’ he said.
A qualified commercial pilot, Khawaja will be the first player from the Valley club to captain Queensland since Matthew Hayden took on the job for four games during the reigns of Stuart Law and Jimmy Maher.
