Khawaja makes early exit

Usman Khawaja's stint with Derbyshire is to be cut short after the left-hander was called into the Australia A squad for their tour of Zimbabwe

Derbyshire will be without Usman Khawaja for their entire Friends Life t20 campaign after the batsman was selected in the Australia A squad to tour Zimbabwe.

Khawaja was set to remain at the County Ground until the end of the FLt20 group stage, but will now return to Australia following the LV= County Championship match against Kent, which gets under way at Canterbury today.

The 24-year-old batsman, who made his Test debut against England in the final match of last winter’s Ashes, has struggled to find his best form for Derbyshire, although he did strike an unbeaten 89 in the Clydesdale Bank 40 victory over Worcestershire on May 8.

Khawaja said: “I have enjoyed my time with Derbyshire immensely and wish the team luck and success for the remainder of the season.

“It is a shame that I won’t be able to complete my scheduled spell in the UK but naturally I am looking forward to the A tour and the opportunity of furthering my claims for international honours.”

Derbyshire captain Luke Sutton added: “I speak for everybody here at Derbyshire when I say good luck to Usman, who has been a very popular member of the team during his short spell with the club.

“We are delighted that he gets this opportunity to further his claims for a place in the full Australia team.”

Derbyshire currently have no plans to sign another overseas player as a replacement for Khawaja, with New Zealand batsman Martin Guptill already scheduled to arrive for the start of the FLt20.