Khawaja fit for third Ashes Test

Australia's Usman Khawaja has declared himself fit for the third Ashes test against England next week, brushing aside speculation about his future and saying he will keep playing as long as he is valued by the team.
The left-handed batter, who will turn 39 during the Adelaide test which starts on Wednesday, missed the pink-ball encounter against England due to a back problem, and was also unable to open in either of the innings in Perth last month.
“I could have retired two years ago, or at any time," Khawaja told reporters in Adelaide on Saturday.
"I am always mindful of the future, I always have been. I am not here to hang on, I am just here to enjoy my cricket.
"As long as I am valued I am here, I am doing my job."
In Khawaja's absence, Travis Head and Jake Weatherald have been in fine form at the top of the order.
Head scored a match-winning 123 in Perth, while Weatherald contributed with a solid 72-run knock in the second test.
"I've got to be totally honest, it doesn't really faze me," Khawaja said on the chances of his return to the playing XI.
"The older I have got, the more comfortable I have got with things that I can control and things that I cannot.
"And I feel really good. I am ready to go.
"The rest of it is not in my control. So we will see what happens."
Australia lead the five-match series 2-0 and a win in Adelaide would secure the urn.
 
Green on alert
England's fightback to draw the last Ashes series 2-2 is a useful reminder to Australia that they cannot afford to take their foot off the gas with a 2-0 lead this time around, Cameron Green said on Sunday. Australia go into the third test, which starts in Adelaide on Wednesday, looking firmly in control of the five-match series after victories by eight wickets in Perth and the day-nighter in Brisbane.
The memories of 2023 in England, when the hosts came back from a similar deficit to level the series, were a cautionary tale for Green, however, as Australia look to lock up series honours with two matches to spare.
"That's a really good reminder for our team," the all-rounder told reporters at Adelaide Oval on Sunday.
"It's a good reminder for us to stay really level. I think you can at times look a bit far ahead, but that's a great reminder for us to stay as good as we can be and finish it off."
Former Australia paceman Mitchell Johnson wrote this weekend that England could avoid a 5-0 series sweep but they would need to change their mindset to do so.
Green, though, does not expect England to change their aggressive approach to batting even with the series on the line, regardless of what kind of wicket or weather Adelaide serves up.
"I think they've been really consistent the last three years with how they want to go about it, so I don't think conditions or heat really changed that," he said.
"I always think that the heat probably plays into our hands a little bit better. I think it's the same for when we go over to England, it's really cold."
Local TV, always eager to spot any signs of disgruntlement in the England camp, has been broadcasting footage this weekend of a cameraman being ushered away from England players by security as they headed to their flight to Adelaide on Saturday.
Media have been repeatedly told that neither team will be available for interviews while in transit between matches during the series, and that any video should be "captured from a respectful distance".
Green said he had some sympathy for the England players.
"You never like getting filmed, especially when you want to get away from it all," he said. "So there's always sympathy for anyone in life that's getting filmed in public or in a private space. It's never a nice feeling."