'That ball looks nothing like the one we were playing with" - Usman Khawaja recalls confronting on-field umpire over ball change in 5th Ashes Test
Australian opening batter Usman Khawaja confronted on-field umpire Kumar Dharmasena over the ball change on Day 4 of the final Ashes Test before rain intervened at The Oval. The visitors were cruising in their pursuit of the 384-run target, with both openers - Khawaja and David Warner - recording their fifties before Stumps.
The replacement ball, however, turned out to be the catalyst for England as they searched for wickets. It did not take Khawaja to figure out that the new ball was a menace and was not comparable to the previous one by any means.
England made the replacement ball talk straightaway on the final day and were able to claim all 10 wickets well in time, despite a brief rain spell midway through the day. Chris Woakes was getting considerable movement with the new cherry, heaps over the old ball which the Aussie openers had negotiated with ease. The duo had put on the highest partnership (140 runs) by an Australian pair in England since 2005.
Khawaja claimed that he noticed writing on the ball and the replacement ball felt like only eight overs old when in reality, it was taken in the 37th over.
He told cricket.com.au after the end of the contest:
"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. 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."
Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting also questioned the officials' thinking behind selecting such a replacement ball. He called for an investigation into the matter and termed the whole incident as a "huge blunder".
Pat Cummins also mentioned the incident after the contest. The Aussie skipper revealed that the openers spoke about how the so-called new ball offered much more threat than compared to the previous one.
"Personally, I think if there's nothing else in the box that can match the ball you have, you can't really change it" - Usman Khawaja
The veteran left-handed opening batter had a prolific 2023 Ashes series at the top of the order. He finished the campaign with 496 runs, which is the most by an Australian opener since Matthew Elliot's 556-run tally in the 1997 Ashes.
Usman Khawaja also questioned on-umpire Joel Wilson on the final day as well over the ball change. The umpires defended their selection by stating that there were no other suitable alternatives, which the player did not consider reasonable.
"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. 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 said.
Khawaja scored 72 runs off 145 deliveries and was dismissed by Chris Woakes in the 44th over. He mentioned that the ball change was frustrating, to say the least.
"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," he added.
"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," Khawaja continued.
Australia and England shared the five-match series by a 2-2 margin while the visitors retained the urn after coming into the series as holders, courtesy of their 4-0 win in the home series in 2021-22.
Did the ball change have a drastic say in the proceedings in the fourth innings? Let us know what you think.