Usman Khawaja alleges racial abuse by MCC member

Former Australia batter Usman Khawaja has alleged he was racially abused by a Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) member during the Ashes Test at Lord's in 2023. The incident occurred following the controversial stumping of England's Jonny Bairstow by Australia wicketkeeper Alex Carey during the second Test, with Khawaja describing the members as like "a pack of dogs" in his newly released autobiography.

Television footage from the time captured Khawaja and David Warner involved in confrontations with spectators as the Australian team walked off for lunch. Consequently, the MCC expelled one member and suspended two others after they were found to have engaged in "abusive, offensive or inappropriate behaviour or language," with one receiving a four-and-a-half-year suspension and the other serving 30 months.

Khawaja stated that he told one man not to shout at him, which led to another individual racially abusing him. "We didn't realise what was waiting for us in the Long Room. Unfortunately, the MCC members in the room that day showed their true colours," Khawaja wrote. He noted that while he previously held MCC members in high regard as the "kindest, most gentle, cricket-loving members in the world," that day made them appear different.

"Because when cricket, and the Lord's cricket ground, needed their civility the most, they turned into a pack of privileged drunks, barking at us from a metre away," Khawaja added. "It was like a pack of dogs about to feast on their next meals. They were in unison, swearing. I couldn't believe what I was hearing." He described one person "shouting, spitting and screaming" in his face and alleged that another member attempted to trip him and Warner as they climbed the stairs.

"[He was] sticking his leg out, so we'd fall on the steps. Davey told him off first, so I didn't think the bloke would do it again," Khawaja recalled. "But as I went to walk upstairs, he tried to do it to me too! At the top of the stairs, I saw a whole bunch of members waiting for us near the change-room. I looked at them with a smile of shock, put my arms in the air, and said, 'Is this Lord's or the zoo?'"

In his autobiography, Khawaja also claimed the entire Australia team was aware of the use of sandpaper to tamper with the ball during the final Test of their 2018 series against South Africa. The 39-year-old retired from international cricket in January, having accumulated 6,229 runs across 88 Tests for Australia.