Usman Khawaja has alleged that he was subjected to racial abuse in the Long Room at Lord’s following Jonny Bairstow’s controversial dismissal during England’s pursuit of 371 in the second innings of the second Ashes Test in 2023. Khawaja was involved in an exchange with an MCC member while making his way to the visitors’ dressing room during the lunch interval on Day 5.
In his recently released autobiography, Khawaja claimed that one MCC member told him to “shut up, you P**i”, although he was unable to identify the individual who made the remark.
The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) took swift action after the match, suspending three unnamed members for their “unacceptable behaviour”. The club subsequently launched an investigation that resulted in one member being expelled, while the other two were handed bans of four-and-a-half years and two-and-a-half years respectively.
“It was like a pack of dogs about to feast on their next meal. They were in unison, swearing, calling us ‘F-ing this’, ‘F-ing that’, ‘C-nts this’. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. At first, I just laughed, mostly in shock,” Khawaja wrote in his book.
“Was this the Long Room? Part of the most prestigious, noble cricket club in the world, where the waiting list was more than 30 years? Or were we with the Hollies [Edgbaston’s notorious party stand]? And no disrespect to the Hollies, because they never treated us like this.
“As we kept walking, I stopped when someone shouted directly into my ear. There was only a rope and about 20 centimetres separating us. ‘Don’t you dare scream in my ear again, you dickhead,’ I said to the first guy. Then, as I walked on, I heard someone else say, ‘Shut up, you P**i.’ I lost it.”
Khawaja added: “I don’t know exactly who said it. I want to clarify that I know a few people were banned by the MCC. All I know is that I confronted the first bloke I saw because I thought it was him. He was still shouting, spitting and screaming in my face, so I could only assume it was him. I told security, ‘Get this guy out of here!'”
Khawaja has also made bombshell claims in his autobiography about the Sandpapergate in 2018, which has created a furore in Australian cricket.