The 38-year-old seasoned batter, with 5,930 runs in 144 Test innings, appeared to subtly acknowledge the hardships faced by those in conflict-ridden regions.

Australian Test opener Usman Khawaja lashed out Friday at "inflammatory" and "categorically untrue" comments from Queensland's head of cricket after he missed a crucial Sheffield Shield game.

Australia had Sri Lanka three down after opener Usman Khawaja's first double century and a ton on debut by Josh Inglis helped the tourists to 654-6 declared in the first match on Thursday.

Steve Smith stood unbeaten on 104 after crossing 10,000 Test runs and helped Australia pummel Sri Lanka alongside fellow centurion Usman Khawaja on day one of the opening Test on Wednesday.

Australia's Usman Khawaja said his new opening partner Nathan McSweeney should not feel the need to imitate the quick-scoring approach of David Warner in the test series against India.

Khawaja edged out tough competition from teammate Travis Head, India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin and England's Joe Root for the award following a successful year that culminated in Australia claiming their first ICC World Test Championship title.

Usman Khawaja’s appeal against a sanction on him for wearing a black armband during the opening Test against Pakistan was rejected by the International Cricket Council, and therefore the reprimand imposed on the cricketer will stand, according to a report by The Sydney Morning Herald on Sunday.  

Warner, who hit a 57 in his final Test innings, received a rousing goodbye from the thousands of Australians present at the SCG

Last week, Khawaja spoke about how the Israel-Hamas conflict had affected him. "When I'm looking at my Instagram and seeing innocent kids, videos of them dying, passing away, that's what hit me the hardest," he said.

The Pakistan-born Khawaja, who has been keen to show his support for the people of Gaza during the ongoing conflict in the enclave, was reprimanded for wearing a black armband in the first test against Pakistan in Perth earlier this month.

“I have been following the Khawaja fiasco and I cannot say I’m surprised by the ICC’s stance,” Holding told The Australian.

Khawaja has been denied permission by the International Cricket Council (ICC) to have a sticker showing a black dove holding an olive branch on his bat and shoes during the second Test against Pakistan.

Khawaja spoke on Friday about how the Israel-Hamas conflict had affected him, saying he despaired at seeing how many children had been killed

The Pakistan-born opener was reprimanded by cricket's global governing body on Thursday for wearing the armband during the 360-run win over Pakistan in the series-opener in Perth.

Khawaja had the messages "Freedom is a human right" and "All lives are equal" on his boots in the colours of the Palestinian flag during training before the opening test of the three-match series last week, which the hosts won by 360 runs in Perth.

The opening batsman had wanted to wear the shoes during the match at Perth with the hand-written messages "Freedom is a human right" and "All lives are equal" clearly visible.

Australian cricketer Usman Khawaja vowed Wednesday to fight a ban on him wearing shoes during a match highlighting the plight of people in Gaza, saying it was a "humanitarian appeal" and not a political message.

Batter Khawaja had the messages "Freedom is a human right" and "All lives are equal" written on his boots in the colours of the Palestinian flag in Tuesday's training for the first test against Pakistan.

"Warner and Smith are heroes in my mind," Khawaja told reporters on Monday.

"Don't even get the chance to bowl in the second innings at Manchester due to 2 days of rain and @ICC still issue fines and take 10 WTC points off us for slow over rates!" Khawaja posted on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter