Australian opener Usman Khawaja has revealed he questioned umpires at The Oval twice concerning the ball change that determined the fifth Ashes Test and was advised there was “nothing else” within the field of substitute balls for them to decide on.
Umpires Kumar Dharmasena and Joel Wilson have come underneath fireplace for his or her day 4 transfer to vary the ball that was out of practice after clattering into Khawaja’s helmet.
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Australia was on observe to chase down a mammoth goal of 384 earlier than the change, with simply 9 balls left on day 4, turned the match on its head.
Former Australian captain Ricky Ponting was a type of fuming with rage all through day 5 as the house workforce snared three early wickets with a ball that resembled a brand new one earlier than occurring to dismiss the Australians for 334 and snare the victory.
Khawaja mentioned he spoke to the umpires on each day 4 and once more on day 5 concerning the situation of the ball they picked out, elevating the topic as quickly as the brand new ball was bowled by Mark Wood.
“I walked straight up to Kumar and said straightaway, ‘That ball looks nothing like the one we were playing with. I can see writing on it’,” Khawaja advised cricket.com.au after the match completed.
“It felt harder than any ball I‘ve faced in this Ashes series – and I’ve opened the batting against the new ball every single time.
“I said, ‘I don’t know what’s going on – you’ve gone from an old, reverse (swinging) ball to a brand new ball’.”
Khawaja questioned Dharmasena’s counterpart Joel Wilson on day 5 earlier than he was dismissed, because the ball seamed and was swinging and making life exhausting for the Australians, and was stunned by is response.
“I asked Joel again today, ‘How are we using this ball right now? It’s so new’. And he said, ‘There was nothing else in the box’,” Khawaja mentioned.
The umpires picked from a field containing at the very least a dozen balls.
Even English seamer Chris Woakes, who dismissed Khawaja, mentioned the Australians “wouldn’t have been happy” with the ball change.
Khawaja mentioned the umpires had made a match-defining mistake and it ought to be checked out additional.
“Personally, I think if there’s nothing else in the box that can match the ball you have, you can’t really change it,” Khawaja mentioned.
“It‘s a bit frustrating as a batting unit because we worked our backsides off for 36 overs and then they changed the ball.
“As an opener you work so hard to get through to there and then you‘re facing a new ball again.
“That ball was 95 overs in and still hooping and bouncing.
“Unfortunately, that’s the hand you get dealt sometimes in cricket. It may not feel fair, but … hopefully the ICC can learn from it and try to look at that ball to change the process.”
Originally revealed as ‘Nothing else in the box’: Khawaja questioned umpires’ ‘brand new’ ball change in Ashes finale
Source: www.dailytelegraph.com.au
