Ashes 2023: Ricky Ponting Demands An Investigation Into The “Ball Change Controversy” and Calls It A “Huge Blunder”

The Ashes 2023 may have finished in a 2-2 tie on Monday at The Oval in London, but the rivalry between England and Australia off the field is still going strong. Australia has called for a probe into the incident after the controversial ball change on the fifth Test’s decisive day.

The incident happened in Australia’s 37th over of the chase when the umpires decided to switch out the old ball. The replacement ball sent to England was far younger than the original, and this infuriated the visitors.

The main worry I have is the significant difference in the condition of the ball that was picked to replace, Ponting remarked on Sky Sports during lunch. There is no way in the world that you could even consider comparing the two balls while looking at them. If you’re going to adjust the ball, you want to make sure that you do it correctly so that it is as similar to the original as you can make it. You’ll see that there weren’t many balls in older condition in that box. The umpires saw that some of the elder players had been picked up and tossed them back.

“Bowling was more enjoyable this morning due to the weather. But based on what I saw last night, that ball there, I can confidently assert that it would not have accomplished nearly as much as that ball did this morning. Movement, seam movement, and swing were all double what they were yesterday afternoon. I believe that to be a significant error that requires investigation, he continued.

Prior to the ball change, Australia was without a wicket, but with the new ball, both openers David Warner (60) and Usman Khawaja (72) were out in the first six overs.

“That is a crucial time in this game and might be a crucial moment in the Test match, and I believe it has to be looked at… Whether the balls were in good shape when they were placed in the box or the umpires just chose one that they felt was suitable for use, Ponting said.

Australia, who had been chasing 384, lost by 49 runs and failed to hold onto its early 2-0 lead in the last three games of the five-Test series.

Khawaja said that since the ball was hitting the bat with such force, he informed the umpire that it was significantly different from the preceding ball.

“We got off to a great start. That ball was the major deal. The first over after they changed that ball was when they changed that ball. I immediately saw that this ball was unique. I approached Kumar directly and said, “How old is this ball you’ve given them? It feels like it’s been used for about eight overs.” The inscription was visible on both sides, and it struck my bat quite hard, the opener remarked during the post-game presentation.

“I have opened in every single inning of the Ashes series, and I have never felt a ball strike my bat with such force. I warned the boys to use caution while playing with the new ball since it would be tough even today (the fifth day). It will be far more difficult than that other ball, he said.