Usman Khawaja ended his stay at Glamorgan with a nail-biting victory over Gloucestershire at Sophia Gardens.
The Australia international broke the Welsh county’s Specsavers County Championship by scoring three centuries in his first three games before becoming a mainstay opener in the Vitality Blast.
Khawaja has had to cut his stay in Wales short after being called up early by Australia A for their tour of India, but was glad his farewell appearance ended in victory.
“I’ll take a win any day but I'd prefer it to be a lot less close,” said Khawaja. “It was a really good game and I think everyone really enjoyed it. It went right down to the wire but that’s what T20 is all about and it was a great way to finish.”
Arriving in June, the man called ‘Uzzie’ became an instant fan favourite amongst the Glamorgan faithful and Khawaja said the feeling was mutual and was glad he initially decided to sign for the Welsh county.
“They’ve been great out here,” added Khawaja. “The fans really get into it and I even heard them singing Sweet Caroline, that’s something I’ve never heard at a ground before.
“The fans really get behind us, Cardiff is a really beautiful city and everyone has been so friendly and nice. I’ve had a great time and I'm really glad I made the decision to come here.
“It hasn’t rained at all since I’ve been here! It’s actually been sunnier than Australia. The guys in the dressing room are a great bunch of boys and that’s the lasting impression I’ll have of the people of Wales. Everyone has been so accommodating right from the start and as an overseas player you couldn’t have asked for more.”
After helping Glamorgan to four wins so far in the Vitality Blast, Khawaja believes his teammates have what it takes to reach the knockout stages and beyond.
“Gloucestershire are right up there as one of the best teams and we’ve beaten them tonight. In T20 if you peak at the right time you can go far, hopefully we’re peaking at the right time in the back half of the competition.
“If we can win a few more games then maybe we can get into that quarter-final and once you’re there anything is possible so fingers crossed.”