Ricky Ponting’s, a former Australian captain, reportedly missed his flight home because he was required to stay a little longer for the completion of Day 5 of the fifth Ashes Test on Monday at The Oval.
While serving as the leaders of their respective nations, Nasser Hussain and Ponting had already competed against one another. They get along well as commentators, as demonstrated in a video posted by Sky Sports Cricket in which Hussain made fun of Ponting for missing his flight.
Ricky Ponting’s requests a “investigation” into the ball-change controversy
The contentious ball change that took place on Day 4 of the fifth Ashes Test was one of the game’s key talking points. The first wicket partnership between Usman Khawaja and David Warner was well over 100 runs. And the hosts had no significant seam movement to offer.
However, when Mark Hood struck Khawaja on the helmet in the 37th over. Umpires Joel Wilson and Kumar Dharmasena chose to change the ball because they believed it had lost its shape. The new ball provided seam movement and was surprisingly fresh and tougher than the old one.
When Ricky Ponting saw images showing how different the two balls seemed, he was incensed and asked the umpires why they had made such a serious error. He said the following to Sky Sports:
“I really don’t see how two international umpires who have officiated many games can get things so incorrect. This is a crucial point in the game and might be a crucial moment in the Test match so. I believe it needs to be looked into: Were the balls in the box in proper condition. Or did the umpires just casually choose one they thought would be appropriate to use?”
“Double the seam movement and swing this morning compared to last afternoon. I believe it to be a significant error that requires investigation.
Australia will also be a little frustrated that it hasn’t yet won a Test series on English soil since 2001. While England will be disappointed that it lost the chance to reclaim the Urn.
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