Michael Neser is Australia's Chris Woakes: Usman Khawaja

Star Australia batter Usman Khawaja drew a comparison with Michael Neser to England's Chris Woakes as the Queensland allrounder kept on pressing himself for a Test recall. Neser starred with a 140-run innings, in Queensland’s recent match against New South Wales in the Sheffield Shield at the new Cricket Central ground at Sydney Olympic Park.

Neser's performance with the bat as well as the ball, reminds Khawaja of Woakes who was the player of the series in the thrilling Ashes series this summer. The Queensland captain believes his fellow team-mate, who has already played two Tests for the national side, has the same abilities as England's Ashes hero.

"Michael Neser has been unbelievable for so many years. A lot of people see him for the amazing bowler that he is but you see the allrounder he is - he bats No.7 for us," the 36-year-old was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo.

"He's always been around the group with the Australian cricket team just for his bowling, but I think what he's offering with his batting, you've got a guy who can win you a lot of cricket games. He's got that 'Woakesy' type of thing where he can do both, it's really important to have. He's putting his hand up, definitely," he added.

Jimmy is obviously pushing his name up for Test selection: Usman Khawaja

Khawaja further praised Queensland wicketkeeper Jimmy Peirson, stating he is also pushing his Test selection. He scored a crucial 106 runs and shared a 200-run partnership with Neser in the second innings when their side were five wickets down and 179 runs behind.

"Jimmy's been scoring runs for us the last three years consistently. He's obviously pushing his name up for Test selection. He was with us at the Ashes as a reserve, he's been doing all the right things, he's a great keeper and a leader of the team," Khawaja concluded.