`Ashes hopefuls` Khawaja, Hughes fail to shine in Australia A game against Gloucestershire

Sydney: In a further exposure of Australia`s batting frailties, Ashes hopefuls Usman Khawaja and Phillip Hughes were reportedly among the batsmen to fail as the visiting A team was rolled for 111 in its second innings by Gloucestershire.

The bleak batting performance of the duo, who were promoted to open in search of a big score before the Ashes tour officially begins on Monday, made for a sharp contrast with the opening day, when the Australians declared their first innings closed with a century from Nic Maddinson. Denied a chance to build on a start by the first-innings declaration, Khawaja admitted that he and the other batsmen had played a few bad shots, adding that they lost a few wickets too early in the game. According to Khawaja, they would have been in a commanding position if the game had been a four-day one by scoring 500 in the first innings, adding that instead they got rolled in the second innings itself. Meanwhile, among the decisions to be made before the end of the match on Sunday is whether to add Fawad Ahmed to the Ashes squad now that he can become an Australian citizen. Cricket Australia has gone to such lengths to fast-track Ahmed`s eligibility that it seems likely he will remain in England at least until next month`s Australia A tour of South Africa. ANI