Cricket Australia CEO Todd Greenberg has defended Usman Khawaja saying it is "drawing a long bow" to suggest that his decision to play golf prior to the Test match impacted the back spasms that he suffered on the opening day in Perth.
Khawaja, 38, has come under scrutiny after the issue forced him off the field late in England's short first innings on Friday. His absence was ill-timed as England then collapsed while he was stretching to overcome the spasm and it left stand-in captain Steven Smith calling for Khawaja to come back onto the field.
Khawaja eventually did return to the field for the end of the innings but, according to ICC rules, had not returned for the equal amount of time he had been off and therefore was ineligible to open the batting. It meant Marnus Labuschagne was forced to open and Smith batted at No.3. Khawaja eventually batted at No.4 and was dismissed for just 2.
Khawaja fielded for all 15 overs Australia bowled prior to lunch on day two and looked unaffected. But he dropped a catch at slip after lunch and then jumped for another and his back seized up again. He left the field for the last 48 minutes of England's second innings and was unable to open again, with Travis Head walking out for the fourth-innings chase alongside Weatherald.
"Unfortunately Uzzy is not moving too well," Cummins told Fox Cricket on Saturday afternoon. "His back flared up again in the slips going for a jump above his head so he's unable to open.
"We were trying to work out whether we shuffle everyone up like the first innings, but Trav ran off and he was keen to give it a crack.
"He's done it quite a bit in white ball cricket so we switched those roles.
"Hopefully Uzzy can still fill in a role in the middle order at some point.
"Don't think we'll see him until after Marn and Smithy."
CA stressed it was a new injury that he had not suffered prior to Friday. Khawaja had played golf on Tuesday and Wednesday either side of Australia's training sessions. He skipped Thursday's optional session, with only four of Australia's XI doing any training, to play golf alongside Mitchell Starc and Scott Boland. Several of Australia's coaching staff also played in the afternoon after the main session.
Greenberg, an avid golfer himself who sat with Perth-born professional golfer Min Woo Lee at Perth Stadium on Friday, said there was no correlation between Khawaja's golf and his back issue.
"[Golf] has held him in good stead over the last couple of years. It's not uncommon for a lot of them to play golf a day prior," Greenberg told SEN. "Did that correlate to any of the issues? I personally don't think so.
"Usman's a very seasoned campaigner, he knows his body well, and he knows how to get himself prepared for cricket. So I think that is drawing a long bow. A lot of people talk about cricket being played between the ears.
"So getting some time away from being in your hotel or at training I think is really important. I noticed Mitch Starc played golf with him, so it certainly didn't impact his performance."
Golf is a huge part of Australia's team culture, as it is for their opponents England. They play regularly in the lead-up to Test matches at home and abroad. The entire squad had a team-bonding trip to northern Scotland to play a week of golf before the WTC final, which they lost to South Africa.
CA's medical and strength and conditioning staff have long sanctioned it, especially for the fast bowlers, as low impact time on their feet that also provided a mental reprieve from the grind of cricket training and playing.