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Row over ball change leaves Australia camp fuming at the end of the Ashes

World Cup-winning skipper Ricky Ponting says the episode needs to be investigated

The English cricket team scripted a 49-run win in the final Test against Australia to level the Ashes 2-2 in a dramatic fashion on Monday. England did succeed in avoiding a series defeat but their victory at The Oval has been mired in controversy.

The Australian camp cried foul after a ball change, midway through the fourth innings. The incident took place in the 37th over of Australia’s second innings on Sunday — the fourth day of the Test. Umpires Kumar Dharmasena and Joel Wilson deemed that the ball had gone out of shape after English pacer Mark Wood’s bouncer hit Usman Khawaja’s helmet.

Hence, the umpires decided to introduce a new ball. Media reports claimed that this replacement ball didn’t seem a like-for-like for the ball which had been used for 37 overs.

Usman Khawaja alleged that the ball was only eight overs old. The Australian opener said during the post-match presentation, “We started off really well. The big thing was that ball. As soon as they changed that ball, the first over they changed that ball. I knew straight away this ball is very different. I went straight up to Kumar [Dharmasena] and said 'how old is this ball you've given them because it feels like it's about eight overs old.' You could see the writing on both sides and it hit my bat so hard.”

Australia’s World Cup-winning skipper Ricky Ponting was not quite pleased with the ball-change episode. The former cricketer stated that the whole incident has to be investigated. “I just cannot fathom how two international umpires that have done that a lot of times before can get that so wrong. That is a huge moment in this game, potentially a huge moment in the Test match, and something I think actually has to be investigated: whether there was the right condition of balls in the box, or the umpires have just…picked one out of there that they think will be okay to use,” Ponting said on Sky Sports during the lunch break of day five.

The ball tracking data, provided by the broadcasters, suggested that the ball seamed and swung more on the final day morning than on the fourth afternoon, reported ESPN Cricinfo.

Chasing a target of 384, Australia were bowled out for 334. Pacer Chris Woakes picked up four wickets in the second innings, earning a thrilling win for England. Woakes was adjudged Man of the Match for his brilliant all-round performance in the fifth Test.

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