Before the fourth and final Ashes Test at The Oval was called off due to rain, Usman Khawaja’s, the opening batsman for Australia, questioned on-field umpire Kumar Dharmasena over the ball change. With David Warner and Usman Khawaja both scoring fifty before Stumps, the visitors were cruising towards their 384-run goal.
However, the replacement ball ended up serving as England’s impetus as they looked for wickets. Khawaja quickly recognised that the new ball posed a threat and was in no way comparable to the old one.
Despite a brief period of rain midway through the day, England was able to take all 10 wickets long before the replacement ball could even talk on the final day. With the new cherry, Chris Woakes was receiving a tonne of movement compared to the previous ball that the Australian openers had little trouble with. The combination produced the highest partnership by an Australian pair in England since 2005 (140 runs).
Despite the fact that the replacement ball was actually removed in the 37th over, Khawaja insisted that he saw writing on it and that it seemed like it had only been eight overs.
The following is what he said to cricket.com.au after the game:
“I approached Kumar directly and said, “That ball doesn’t look anything like the one we were using. It appears to be written on. Even though I have opened the batting against the new ball every single time, it seemed tougher than any other ball I have encountered during this Ashes series. You switched from a used, reverse-swinging ball to a brand-new ball, I replied. I don’t know what’s going on.
Ricky Ponting, a former captain of Australia, questioned the reasoning behind the officials’ decision to use such a different ball. He demanded a probe and branded the entire situation a “huge mistake.”
Following the game, Pat Cummins spoke about the situation as well. The Australian captain claimed that the openers discussed how much more threat the “new ball” offered compared to the previous one.
“In my opinion, you can’t really change it if there isn’t anything else in the box that can match the ball you have,” Uses Usman Khawaja‘s
The 2023 Ashes series was a successful one for the seasoned left-handed opening hitter. Since Matthew Elliot’s 556 runs in the 1997 Ashes, he finished the year with 496 runs, the most by an Australian opener.
On the last day, Usman Khawaja also questioned Joel Wilson, the on-field umpire, regarding the ball change. The umpires’ justification for their decision was that there were no other viable options, which the player did not find to be logical.
“Today, I questioned Joel once more: “How are we now using this ball? It’s really new. There was nothing else in the box, he continued. If there isn’t another ball in the box that can be compared to the one you have, in my opinion, you can’t really adjust it, according to Khawaja.
Khawaja was bowled out by Chris Woakes in the 44th over after scoring 72 runs off 145 deliveries. The ball alteration, according to him, was at best annoying.
– “As a batting unit, it’s a little discouraging because after 36 overs of exhausting work, they changed the ball. You exert a lot of effort as an opener to get there, and then you have to face another ball. He continued, “That ball was still hooping and bouncing after 95 overs.”
“Unfortunately, in cricket, you occasionally get dealt that hand. Even though it may not seem fair, hopefully the ICC will take note of what happened and strive to make changes moving forward.
Australia and England split the five-match series 2-2, and the visitors. Who entered the series as holders thanks to their 4-0 victory in the home series in 2021–2022, kept the urn.
Did the ball change significantly affect the fourth innings’ events? Tell us what you believe.
Read Also:- Kapil Dev’s Describes The IPL Spat Between Gautam Gambhir And Virat Kohli