A fit Usman Khawaja has created a headache for the selectors ahead of the third Ashes Test which begins in Adelaide on December 17. Openers Travis Head and Jake Weatherald have shown good intent, making two 70-plus stands in quick time.

Former Australia great Michael Clarke believes that Khawaja will be brought back, though he doesn’t back the decision.

“I think the selectors will pick him,” Clarke told ESPN. “I think he’ll be back at the top of the order. I don’t know if I would make a change, to be honest.

“I think I’ve said before, normally with senior players like that and certainly when you get to that age, you’re selected for big tournaments, either a World Cup or an Ashes series, and at the end of those, your time is done.

“Australia are 2-0 up. We’ve got someone at the top of the order that scored an unbelievable hundred. I don’t know if they need to go back to that now. I know that might be hard on Uzzy because he’s had a wonderful career and been a big player.

“His spot wasn’t spoken about before a ball was bowled in this series, but things have changed. Australia’s dominating, their style of play is working, so I don’t know if I would go back to that.”

Mike Hussey believes that if fit, Khawaja should return to his opening role.

“If you think about it, before the Ashes series started, Khawaja was at the top of the order,” Hussey told News Corp. “Would that one innings change the whole mindset of the selectors? From him being locked in as the opener for the Ashes series, to one innings later suddenly he’s just out of the team. In my mind, no.

“Just thinking about (the Perth Test) pragmatically, it wouldn’t change my thinking that much.”