Stand by, sports fans, and political observers. It’s all happening.

Last month when the ABC’s Laura Tingle, in quiet conversation at the Sydney Writers Festival, opined that Australia is “a racist country” and accused Opposition Leader Peter Dutton’s announced plans to cut migration as “so much dog whistling … it doesn’t make rational sense”, all hell broke loose.

Despite the fact La Tingle enjoyed enormous support for her views, the central premise of her critics was that as a publicly funded journalist she had to remain ruthlessly neutral in her public stances. The ABC advised that she had been “counselled her over the remarks”, while Dutton thundered that Tingle had “outed herself now as somebody who is a partisan, she’s a Greens/Labor supporter. I mean, she’s just now completely destroyed her credibility.”

But, what now?

Usman Khawaja, the man who is likely Australia’s most popular and admired cricketer – with only Pat Cummins to argue the toss – has gone a whole lot further than Tingle did and his remarks on Dutton will create every bit as much of a storm.

The background is that at a press conference on Thursday morning, Dutton made reference to Labor Senator Fatima Payman – who at the time was suspended for having crossed the floor to support a Greens motion recognising a Palestinian state. (She has since resigned from the Labor Party.)

“I think what it does demonstrate” Dutton said, “is that the prime minister, if he’s in a minority government in the next term of parliament, it will include the Greens, it will include the green Teals, it will include Muslim candidates from Western Sydney. It will be a disaster. If you think the Albanese government is bad now, wait for it to be a minority government with the Greens, the green Teals and Muslim independents.”

In response, Khawaja – a cheery, softly spoken man by nature, of generally moderate views, and the first Muslim to play for Australia in a Test match – reached for the long handle.

“As a Muslim who grew up in Western Sydney I find this comment from someone who is running for PM an absolute disgrace,” Khawaja said on X, formerly known as Twitter. “Bigotry at its finest. Fueling Islamophobia from the very top.”